The world's oldest known system of writing was influenced by symbols used for trade — engravings found on cylinders used in the exchange of farming produce and textiles, a new study suggests. The ...

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in ...

Study reveals earliest point in writing related to trading symbols Co-authors Kathryn Kelley and Mattia Cartolano from the University of Bologna's Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies ...

According to a November 2025 Coast Guard policy, symbols like swastikas and nooses were "potentially divisive" rather than ...

The Kish tablet is “only” 5,500 years old, whereas the oldest cave painting, which features three humans and a pig, dates back to 50,000 years. However, cave paintings illustrate scenes rather than ...

Symbol equations are a quick way of representing chemical reactions. They show us what atoms are involved and how they are bonded together. Symbol equations always take the form, reactants → products.