Overview of the languages of the world
Iglhaut + von Grote, courtesy of www.mapsofworld.com
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40.000 BCE
Human language developed into the form that we know today.
Image of a bison in the cave at Altamira, Northern Spain. According to most recent research results, the paintings are up to 40,000 years old.Rameessos / Wikimedia Commons40000 BCE
The oldest known cave paintings in Europe are produced in what is northern Spain today.
An overview of the writing systems of the worldwww.kreationswelt.de6.600 BCE
Artefacts in China are furnished with writing-like characters – the so-called Jiahu font.3500 v. Chr.
invention of the flattened tissues of the papyrus plant as a writing material in ancient Egypt
The obelisk of the Assyrian King Shalmaneser III. (858-824 BCE), a replica of the original kept at London’s British Museum, photograph: Punctum, Bertram KoberReplik: Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig
Frieze tile from the Pharoah’s residence with the phrase “he who conquers the foreign land”, Egypt, around 1300-1100 BCEDeutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig3100 BCE
The Egyptian hieroglyph script emerges.3000 v. Chr.
development of early scripts through the reduction of rock art motifs (ideograms)
Ushabti figurine for passage to the world of the dead, 1550–1070 BC, photograph by: Punctum, Bertram KoberStaatliche Museen zu Berlin, Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlungc. 2.000 BCE
Ushabtis are used in Ancient Egypt as funerary objects.1700 v. Chr.
emergence of the first alphabet (22 characters) in North Semitic Palestine and Syria
Stele with inscription and protective deity to ward off evil spirits, undated copy of a photograph: Punctum, Bertram KoberDeutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig1.600 BCE
Chinese writing is demonstrably used for the first time.