Amateur archaeologist uncovers ice age ‘writing’ system

An amateur archaeologist concluded that the 20,000-year-old markings on the writing system were a form of lunar calendar.

According to the research, cave drawings were used to record information about the timing of animals' reproductive cycles.

The "proto-writing" system is believed to be at least 10,000 years old.

Despite being off the street, he was encouraged to pursue his theory by a team of academics.

Two professors from Durham University and one from University College London were part of the team that collaborated with bacon to publish a paper.

The professor at Durham University said he was glad he took it seriously. He said that ice age hunter-gatherers were the first to use a systemic calendar and marks.

Cave paintings of animals such as reindeer, fish, and now extinct cattle called aurochs and bison have been found in Europe. There are hundreds of ice age images on cave walls and portable objects across Europe. Archaeologists believed the markings had meaning, but no one could decipher them.

It was "surreal" to be figuring out what people were saying 20,000 years ago, and that's what bacon set out to do.

By using the birth cycles of equivalent animals as a reference point, the team deduced that the number of marks associated with ice age animals were a record. Adding a diverging line to another is believed to mean giving birth.

The people who left a legacy of amazing art in the caves of Lascaux and Altamira also left a record of early timekeeping.

Since the marks are thought to be recording information numerically rather than recording speech, they are not considered to be writing.

The people responsible for the drawings felt a lot closer because of the work done. He said that the ancient ancestors are more similar to us than they had thought.

The team has been encouraged by the findings to carry out further research.

The initial work is promising and we hope that it will allow us to understand what our ancestors valued.