“Let there be light,” were the first words ever spoken in the history of the world by Creator God, but how did our ancient ancestors communicate with each other before the creation of all the languages at the Tower of Babel in 4,000 BCE? Over 50,000 years ago, the ancient ancestors used color to communicate with one another by marking on objects and even their own skin (Language & Symbols, 2009). Different colors symbolized how they identified themselves and the groups they were a part of (Language & Symbols, 2009). Others wore certain adornments to identify who they were. These adornments represented and communicated membership status of a particular group, one’s age, gender, and social status (Language & Symbols, 2009). All of these categories were used in expressing identity in the ancient world through a type of adornment, and this form of communication is believed to have been one of the first forms of communication ever used (Language & Symbols, 2009). Smoke signals are another form of early communication that were used during the preliterate times (Anderson, 2020). People used to send messages through smoke signals when they were a great distance apart (Anderson, 2020). Exact dates of the first form of communication are unclear, but it is believed that these first forms of communication began over 50,000 years ago (Language & Symbols, 2009).
Some scholars claim that the origins of what is thought to have been the first image and form of communication ever created, dates as far back as 40,000 B.C. to 10,000 BCE (Groeneveld, 2016). This image is in a cave known as Lascaux in Dordogne, France, and it shows cave paintings of animals that are almost life sized (Groeneveld, 2016). Cattle, horses, bison, and deer are painted into the rock to make it seem as though they were roaming across the walls and ceilings. These images were created during the prehistory or preliterate period, which means before the development of writing (Groeneveld, 2016). There are several theories as to why the preliterate man chose to record these images on the walls of the Lascaux cave, and all of the theories relate to a type of communication. One of the most widely believed reasons these were painted, was for the ancient man to document their hunting expeditions and communicate their achievements to their people group (Groeneveld, 2016). Another belief as to why these cave paintings were created was that of recording, in the only way they knew how, their history and culture.
When one thinks of the Egyptians they most likely think of the pyramids and the hieroglyphics. Around 3,300 BCE, is when these famous hieroglyphics began to be used by the Egyptians (Kiger, 2021). The hieroglyphics are one of the most intriguing writing systems ever created, and this form of communication had perplexed historians for centuries until the French scholar; Jean-François Champollion decoded these mysterious symbols in 1822 (Kiger, 2021). The word hieroglyphic comes from the Greek word hieroglyphikos, which means “sacred carving” (Kiger, 2021). These carvings or engravings appeared in many different figures, shapes, and characters. For example, stylized pictures of people, animals, and objects adorn the walls of the tombs and other remnants from ancient Egypt. These carvings were used to communicate religious messages and relay important messages, as well as to record events, and to honor their many gods and deities (Kiger, 2021). They chiseled these beautiful unique images into stone, as well as on papyrus (Kiger, 2021). Egyptians used carving tools to engrave these hieroglyphics into the tombs, and a scribe would use either black or red ink for the actual text of the hieroglyphics (Capua, 2015). Soot or incinerated vegetable material was used to create the black ink, which contains a carbon-based pigment to create a nice texture (Capua, 2015). To create the red ink, the Egyptians used either a red-iron oxide or a red ocher (hydrated oxide of iron). Other colors were used in the production of hieroglyphics by the Egyptians. Blue, white, green, and yellow are other common colors the Egyptians used when creating hieroglyphics (Capua, 2015). Hieroglyphics are commonly deemed as just picture writing, but this is in fact wrong (The British Museum, n.d.). The Egyptians used hieroglyphics to signify sounds in the ancient Egyptian language, as well as to use them as ideographic designs, which means they represent concepts but do not have sounds attached (The British Museum, n.d.). The ancient Egyptians did not put any spaces between words or use any type of punctuation when recording in hieroglyphics (Capua, 2015). In addition, one can read them horizontally from left to right or vertically from right to left, and vice versa (Capua, 2015). Eventually hieroglyphic writing died out around 390 CE because of the lack of Egyptian sculptors and few could even understand the meaning behind the symbols and characters (Kiger, 2021).
The Ancient Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia, which is now Modern Iraq, are widely thought of as the civilization that invented cuneiform writing around 3,200 BCE, and the Sumerian language is also regarded as the oldest language in the world (Meyer, 2023). Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was adopted by several other Mespotamia cultures of the ancient world, including the Hittites and the Akkadians (Meyer, 2023). While the current world uses paper and technology for writing, the Sumerians employed a different material to write their language on (Digital Impact, 2024). The Sumerians etched documents and texts into wet clay tablets (Meyer, 2023). These tablets would dry, and they would be passed around (Meyer, 2023). Due to the quality and strength of these tablets, many of them have survived throughout millennia and have been discovered by curious archaeologists (Digital Impact, 2024). Much can be learned and grasped about the Sumerian culture through the cuneiform tablets (Meyer, 2023). The Sumerians pressed their unique cuneiform marks into wet clay tablets around 3,000 B.C. to create what some scholars believe to be the first books ever written and created (Digital Impact, 2024). Cuneiform is a new term dating from the early 18th century (Digital Impact, 2024). It comes from middle French and Latin, and it literally means “wedged-shaped” (Meyer, 2023). “Wedge-shaped” perfectly describes the script of cuneiform, which is easily identified by its literal wedge-shaped characters (Meyer, 2023). The language of the Sumerian’s is deemed a linguistic isolate, which means that there is no other language truly connected with it (Meyer, 2023). The ancient Sumerian language survived as a written language for a long length of time, but the usage of it reduced significantly until it died out shortly after the Christian era (Digital Impact, 2024). The Summerians can be identified as the first literate civilization (Digital Impact, 2024).
Starting around 3,000 BCE, an ancient Incan device called Quipu was used as a type of communication and record-keeping employed by the ancient Incan people. Quipu is a curiously fascinating form of communication that the Incan’s would use in every level of Incan bureaucracy (Gregersen, 2022). During the Inca period, quipus were kept by high officials in the Incan capital, judges, commanders, and important leaders (Gregersen, 2022). In addition, they were also used in every tribe by the headmen of the village (Gregersen, 2022). Over 600 quipus have been discovered near the Andes mountains that were used by certain members of the Incan tribe (Gregersen, 2022). The materials that the Incans used to create a quipu was that of a long textile cord (Gregersen, 2022). This cord was referred to as the top or primary cord, and then there were a varying number of pendant cords (Gregersen, 2022). These pendant cords also could potentially have subsidiary cords of knot tied and its position on the pendant relative to the top cord usually records a numeric value (Gregersen, 2022). There are three basic types of knots, each of these types of knots have two possible orientations called ‘S’ and ‘Z’ have been identified: “‘E-knot,’ or figure-8 knot, is shaped somewhat like the numeral 8 and represents 1; a ‘long knot’ in which the cord is wrapped around itself from 2 to 9 times represents the numbers from 2 to 9, depending on the number of times it is wrapped; and a single knot (a simple standard knot) represents 10 or multiple powers of 10, depending on its relative position to the top cord. A spot without a knot represents 0. The numeric value of a cluster of single knots is found by selectively counting the number of knots in the specific cluster and multiplying the answer by 10 (Gregersen, 2022).” In addition to the various knots placed in a cord’s composition, ply, length, treatment, and color, as well as spacing between cord’s are all significant in the meaning the quipu communicates to the viewer (Gregersen, 2022). Some quipus are referred to as narrative quipus, and these are believed to use a type of phonetic information, but these have yet to be deciphered (Gregersen, 2022). In certain quipu up to several hundred knots that are tied in various ways and various heights were used (Gregersen, 2022). Dates, statistics, accounts, abstracted ideas, and even traditional folk stories and poetry were recorded and passed around in the form of Quipu (Gregersen, 2022). Although there was an absence of an alphabetic writing system in Incan culture, Quipu shows how the Incan’s successfully created a form of communication without using words or even sounds (Gregersen, 2022).
In conclusion, one can see how a vast variety and different types of communication were used during the preliterate to literate time period. From color communication to etched hieroglyphics, the world’s ancient ancestors were extremely creative in conjuring up means and ways to communicate with one another. The Quipu demonstrates an ingenious method of communication, as well as, the cuneiform used by the Sumerians. In addition, adornments and smoke signals also provide examples of how those of the past creatively communicated and expressed themselves. Understanding the history behind communication and where it originated, helps give one better knowledge and appreciation to those who preceded modern man.
References
Kiger, P. J. (2021, July 26). 8 Facts About Ancient Egypt’s Hieroglyphic Writing. HISTORY.t https://www.history.com/news/hieroglyphics-facts-ancient-egypt
Capua, R. (2015, March). Papyrus-Making in Egypt. Metmuseum.org. https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/pyma/hd_pyma.htm
Gregersen, E. (2022, February 2). Quipu | Incan counting tool. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/quipu
Language & Symbols. (2009, December 22). The Smithsonian Institution’s Human Origins Program. https://humanorigins.si.edu/human-characteristics/language-symbols
Meyer, I. (2023, June 19). Sumerian Tablets - Discovery and Decoding of Ancient Cuneiform. Artincontext.org. https://artincontext.org/sumerian-tablets/
March 7, C. E. •, & 2020. (n.d.). The Prehistoric World Vs. Genesis. ArmstrongInstitute.org. https://armstronginstitute.org/229-the-prehistoric-world-vs-genesis
Digital Impact. (2024, February 7). What Are The Oldest Languages In The World? Global Language Services. https://www.globallanguageservices.co.uk/oldest-languages-in-the-world/#:~:text=Sumerian%20%E2%80%94%20c.&text=Dating%20to%20at%20least%203500
The British Museum. (n.d.). How Egyptian Hieroglyphs Were decoded, a Timeline to Decipherment. The British Museum. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/hieroglyphs-unlocking-ancient-egypt/egyptian-hieroglyphs-decipherment-timeline
Groeneveld, E. (2016, September 6). Lascaux Cave. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/Lascaux_Cave/
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