[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.63,0:00:10.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's something about caves.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.25,0:00:13.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A shadowy opening in a limestone\Ncliff that draws you in.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As you pass through the portal\Nbetween light and dark,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you enter a subterranean world.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A place of perpetual gloom,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a place of earthy smells,\Nof hushed silence.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Long ago in Europe,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancient people also entered\Nthese underground worlds.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As witness to their passage,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they left behind mysterious\Nengravings and paintings.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like this panel of humans, triangles\Nand zig-zags from Ojo Guareña in Spain.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You now walk the same path\Nas these early artists.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in this surreal, other-worldly place,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's almost possible to imagine
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that you hear the muffled foot-fall\Nof skin boots on soft earth,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or you see flickering of a torch\Naround the next bend.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I'm in a cave,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I often find myself wondering,\Nwhat drove these people to go so deep?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to brave dangerous and narrow\Npassageways to leave their mark?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this video clip,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was shot half a kilometer,\Nor about a third of a mile underground,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the cave of Curon in Spain,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we found a series\Nof red paintings on a ceiling
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a previously unexplored\Nsection of the cave.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As we crawled forward, military-style,\Nwith the ceiling getting ever-lower,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we finally got to a point\Nwhere the ceiling was so low,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that my husband and project\Nphotographer, Dylan,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could no longer achieve focus\Non the ceiling with his DSLR camera.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So while he filmed me,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I kept following the trail of red paint\Nwith a single light,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a point-and-shoot camera\Nthat we kept for that type of occasion.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Half a kilometer underground.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Seriously.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What was somebody doing down there\Nwith a torturous stone lamp?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laugher)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean --me, it makes sense, right?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But you know,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this is the kind of question that\NI'm trying to answer with my research.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I study some of\Nthe oldest art in the world.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was created by these\Nearly artists in Europe,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between 10 thousand\Nand 40 thousand years ago.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And the thing is,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that I'm not just studying it\Nbecause it's beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,though some of it certainly is.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what I'm interested in\Nis the development of the modern mind,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the evolution of creativity,\Nof imagination, of abstract thought.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,About what it means to be human.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While all species communicate\Nin one way or another,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,only we humans have really taken it\Nto another level.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our desire and ability\Nto share and collaborate,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,has been a huge part of out success story.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our modern world is based on a global\Nnetwork of information exchange.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Made possible, in large part,\Nby our ability to communicate.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In particular, using graphic\Nor written forms of communication.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The thing is though,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we've been building\Non the mental achievements
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of those that came before us for so long,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that it's easy to forget that certain\Nabilities haven't already existed.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's one of the things\NI find most fascinating
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about studying our deep history.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Those people didn't have the shoulders\Nof any giants to stand on,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were the original shoulders.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And while a surprising number\Nof important inventions
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,come out of that distant time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what I want to talk to you about today\Nis the invention of graphic communication.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There are three\Nmain types of communication,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,spoken, gestural -- \Nso things like sign language,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and graphic communication.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Spoken and gestural are,\Nby their very nature, ephemeral.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It requires close contact for a message\Nto be sent and received.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And after the moment of transmission,\Nit's gone forever.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Graphic communication, on the other hand,\Ndecouples that relationship,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and with its invention, it became possible\Nfor the first time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for a message to be\Ntransmitted and preserved,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,beyond a single moment in place and time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Europe is one of the first places
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we start to see graphic marks\Nregularly appearing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in caves, rock shelters, and even\Na few surviving open air sites.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But this is not the Europe we know today.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was a world dominated\Nby towering ice sheets
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by towering ice sheets, three to four\Nkilometers high,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with sweeping grass plains\Nand frozen tundra.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was the Ice Age.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the last century,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than 350 Ice Age rock art sites\Nhave been found across the continent.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Decorated with animals, abstract shapes,\Nand even the occasional human.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like these engraved figures\Nfrom Grotta dell'Addaura in Sicily.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They provide us with a rare glimpse\Ninto the creative world
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into the creative world and imagination\Nof these early artists.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Since their discovery,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's been the animals that have received\Nthe majority of the study.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like this black horse from \N, Spain.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or this unusual purple bison\Nfrom La Pasiega.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But for me, it was the abstract shapes,\Nwhat we call geometric signs,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that drew me to study the art.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The funny this is, that at most sights,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the geometric signs far outnumber\Nthe animal and human images.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But when I started on this back in 2007,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there wasn't even a definitive list\Nof how many shapes there were,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,nor was there a strong sense
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of whether the same ones appeared\Nacross space or time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Before I could even\Nget started on my questions,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my first step was to compile a database
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of all known geographic signs\Nfrom all of the rock art sites.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The problem was that while they were\Nwell documented at some sights,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,usually the ones\Nwith the very nice animals,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there was also a large number of them\Nwhere it was very vague --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there wasn't a lot\Nof description or detail.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some of them hadn't been visited\Nin half a century, or more.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These were the ones\Nthat I targeted for my field work.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over the course of two years,\N
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my faithful husband Dylan and I\Neach spent over 300 hours underground,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,hiking, crawling and wriggling\Naround 52 sites
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in France, Spain, Portugal and Sicily.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was totally worth it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We found new, undocumented geometric signs\Nat 75 percent of the sites we visited.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is the level of accuracy\NI knew I was going to need
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,if I wanted to start answering\Nthose larger questions.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So let's get to those answers.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Barring a handful of outliers,\Nthere are only 32 geometric signs.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Only 32 signs across\Na 30 thousand year time span,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the entire continent of Europe.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That is a very small number.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now if these were random\Ndoodles or decorations,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we would expect to see\Na lot more variation,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but instead what we find\Nare the same signs,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,repeating across both space and time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some signs start out strong,\Nbefore losing popularity and vanishing,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while other signs are later inventions.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But 65 percent of those signs stayed\Nin use during that entire time period.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thigns like lines, rectangles, trianagles,\Novals and circles.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Like we see here\Nfrom the end of the Ice Age
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at a 10 thousand-year-old site,\Nhigh in Pyrenees Mountains.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And while certain signs span\Nthousands of kilometers,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,other signs had restricted\Ndistribution patterns,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with some being limited\Nto a single territory,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like we see here with these\Ndivided rectangles
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that are only found in northern Spain,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what some researchers have speculated
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,could be some sort\Nof family or clan signs.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On a side note,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,there is surprising degree similarity\Nin the earliest rock art
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,found all the way from France and Spain\Nto Indonesia and Australia.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With many of the same signs\Nappearing in such far-flung places,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially in the 30 thousand\Nto 40 thousand-year range,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's starting to seem increasingly likely
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that this convention actually traces back\Nto a common point of origin in Africa,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but that I'm afraid, is a subject\Nfor a future talk.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So back to the matter at hand.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There could be no doubt that these signs\Nwere meaningful to their creators,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like these 25 thousand-year-old\N___________ sculptures
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from La Roque de Venasque in France.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We might not know what they meant\Nbut the people of the time certainly did.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The repetition of the same signs,\Nfor so long, and at so many sites,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tells us that the artists\Nwere making intentional choices,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If we're talking about geometric shapes,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with specific, culturally recognized,\Nagreed upon meanings,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than we could very well be looking
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at one of the oldest systems of graphic\Ncommunication in the world.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not talking about writing yet.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's just not enough\Ncharacters at this point,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to have represented all of the words\Nin the spoken language,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,something which is a requirement\Nfor a full writing system.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nor do we see the signs\Nrepeating regularly enough
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to suggest that they were\Nsome sort of alphabet.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But what we do have\Nare some intriguing one-offs
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like this panel from La Pasiega in Spain\Nknown as "The Inscription",
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with its symmetrical markings on the left,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,possible stylized representations\Nof hands in the middle,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what looks a bit like\Na bracket on the right.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The oldest systems of graphic\Ncommunication in the world --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphs,\Nthe earliest Chinese script,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all emerged between four thousand\Nand five thousand years ago,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with each coming into existence\Nfrom an earlier protosystem
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made of counting marks\Nand pictographic representations,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where the meaning\Nand the image were the same.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So a picture of a bird would really have\Nrepresented that animal.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's only later that we start to see\Nthese pictographs become more stylized,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,until they almost become unrecognizable.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that we also start to see
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more symbols being invented to represent\Nall those missing words in the language --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,things like pronouns, adverbs, adjectives.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So knowing all this,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it seems highly unlikely the geometrics\Nsigns from Ice Age Europe
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were truly abstract written characters.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Instead what's much more likely
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that these early artists\Nwere also making counting marks,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,maybe like this row lines\Nfrom Reparo de Za Minica in Sicily,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as creating stylized\Nrepresentations
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of things from the world around them.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Could some of the signs\Nbe weaponry or housing?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or what about celestial objects\Nlike star constellations?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or maybe even rivers, mountains,\Ntrees-- landscape features.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Possibly like this black peniform\Nsurrounded by strange bell-shaped signs
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the site of El Castillo, in Spain.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The term peniform means\N"feather-shaped" in Latin,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but could this actually be\Na depiction of a plant or a tree?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some researchers have begun
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to ask these questions\Nabout certain signs at specific sites,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I believe the time has come\Nto revisit this category as a whole.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The irony in all of this, of course,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is that having just carefully classified\Nall the signs into a single category,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I have a feeling that my next step\Nwill involve breaking it back apart
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as different types of imagery\Nare identified and separated off.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now don't get me wrong,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the later creation\Nof fully-developed writing
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was an impressive feat in its own right,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but it's important to remember
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that those early writing systems\Ndidn't come out of a vacuum.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that even five thousand years ago,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people were already building\Non something much older,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with its origins stretching back\Ntens of thousands of years --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the geometric signs\Nof Ice Age Europe and far beyond,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to that point, deep in our\Ncollective history,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when someone first came up with the idea\Nof making a graphic mark,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and forever changed the nature\Nof how we communicate.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)