Shared Stone Age Symbology

Posted by Greg at 04:26, 02 May 2012

I came across this cool infographic yesterday on Twitter, which is taken from a New Scientist article from 2010. Click to go through to the detailed image:

Shared Stone Age Jottings Infographic

French caves are known for their prehistoric rock art. But also marked on the walls around the paintings are 26 symbols that have appeared again and again at French sites across 25,000 years of prehistory. Early signs suggest that many of these symbols crop up in other parts of the world too, leading some to wonder if symbolic communication arose with early humans.

Funnily enough, the next thing I clicked on was a link to the new trailer for Ridley Scott's Prometheus, which features a plotline in which common symbols are found in prehistoric cultures around the world (an "invitation" from an alien race). I thought I'd include it below, simply for your own enjoyment of my fun little synchronicity.

At least if we decode some ancient pictograms in future from an alien race, we'll be more circumspect about accepting the invitation...

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SPOILERS
#1
Rick MG's picture
Member since:
2 May 2004
Last activity:
38 min 51 sec
Posted by Rick MG on 02 May 2012 at about 04:41.

Just a warning for people looking forward to Prometheus, the trailer contains a massive spoiler. It's not as blatant as the UK trailer released a month or so ago, but it ruins a major plot point. I guess FOX wants to sell Prometheus as "pew pew explosions!" action rather than scifi horror. As VFX artist Gavin Rothery shows, you can deconstruct the entire film from the trailers.

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~ * ~

@levitatingcat

from the Hypnotism-Works-with-what-You-Have-Dept.
#2
Inannawhimsey's picture
Member since:
14 April 2009
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7 weeks 5 days
Posted by Inannawhimsey on 02 May 2012 at about 05:54.

:3 that's what i find personally aboot movie trailers

watching movies is always aboot me intentionally suspending my disbelief, to watch the movie with the eyes of a child...

(i'm glad that people can still watch the same movie and see a different movie)

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All that lives is holy, life delights in life.

--William Blake

The Rocks Begin to Speak
#3
jupiter.enteract's picture
Member since:
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42 min 15 sec
Posted by jupiter.enteract on 02 May 2012 at about 13:05.

Years ago I read a fascinating book on Native American pictographs titled The Rocks Begin to Speak, written by a fellow of Native American descent who proposed a theory on what these otherwise baffling images mean (he suggested they're related to the hand signals used in the old days by different tribes to communicate with one another, as I recall):

http://www.amazon.com/Rocks-Begin-Speak-...

-it would be interesting to see how his theories relate to this work you're referencing here.