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What if the world’s oldest known monumental wooden sculpture was created by people far more symbolically sophisticated than older assumptions about prehistory suggested? The Shigir Idol is one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries ever made. Carved from a single larch tree and covered with…

What if an entire language from one of Europe’s earliest complex civilizations survived on clay tablets, yet its meaning remains unknown? Linear A is one of the world’s most important undeciphered writing systems. Used by the ancient Minoan civilization on Crete, it appears on clay…

What if one of the world’s earliest urban civilizations left behind thousands of symbols, yet no complete sentence can be read with confidence? The Indus Valley Script, also called the Indus script, is one of archaeology’s greatest unsolved mysteries. Its signs appear on seals, tablets,…

What if a carved stone block from Mexico preserves one of the earliest known writing systems in the Americas? The Cascajal Block is an important and controversial artifact associated with the study of early writing in the Americas. Its surface contains dozens of unusual symbols…

What if symbols carved into Neolithic artifacts represent one of humanity’s earliest attempts to record information? The Vinča symbols are a collection of enigmatic markings found on pottery, figurines, tablets, and other objects associated with the Vinča culture of southeastern Europe. Dating back more than…