A 2023 paper in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal proposes that European cave art from roughly 37,000 years ago contains a proto-writing system tied to seasonal tracking. Lead author Bennett Bacon, an independent amateur craftsman, worked with Paul Pettitt (Durham University) and Anthony “Tony” Fre (University College London) on the study. The interpretation remains debated. What a fascinating example of citizen science meeting academia!
2023 paper proposes Upper Paleolithic proto-writing and seasonal calendar in European cave art
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Key facts
- The paper is titled “An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar” and was published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal in 2023.
- The paper proposes, rather than establishes, a proto-writing and seasonal-calendar interpretation of European Upper Paleolithic art; a 2023 discussion debates that proposal.
- Bennett Bacon is the unaffiliated amateur first author; co-authors Paul Pettitt and Anthony “Tony” Fre are affiliated with Durham University and University College London, respectively.
- The examples discussed date to roughly 37,000 years ago and combine signs with figurative depictions.
Sources
An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological ...durham-repository.worktribe.com
The purpose of this system of associating animals with calendar information was to record and convey seasonal behavioural information about specific prey taxa.
(PDF) Discussion: “An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing ...researchgate.net
A recent work by Bacon et al. (2023) proposes to interpret a large part of Palaeolithic art as an ethological calendar.
(PDF) An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and ...academia.edu
The Upper Palaeolithic system utilized notational marks to convey ethological information about animal behavior and seasons. Three common signs—lines, dots, and ...
[PDF] An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and ...semanticscholar.org
The alleged phenological calendar in Palaeolithic art: critical analysis from the viewpoint of statistics and cultural astronomy · The Engraved Slate Plaques of ...
Thoughts on 'proto-writing' in the Upper Palaeolithicbravenewwords.info
There's a lot of buzz about the recent paper by Bacon et al 'An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and Phenological Calendar'.
Do these Stone Age symbols push back the origins of writing ...linguisticdiscovery.substack.com
Examples of possible proto-writing in Upper Paleolithic cave paintings, thought to represent phenological calendars (Bacon et al. 2023).
Discussion: “An Upper Palaeolithic Proto-writing System and ...link.springer.com
by M García-Bustos · 2023 · Cited by 9 — A recent work by Bacon et al. (2023) proposes to interpret a large part of Palaeolithic art as an ethological calendar.
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