FT267

Engraved patterns on the side of ostrich eggs, thought to be 60,000 years old, could be the oldest form of ‘written’ communication. The etchings were used to mark the eggs, which had been turned into water-flasks by African hunter-gatherers. They date back to a time before the last major wave of humans left Africa to populate the rest of the world. The four different patterns and markings, including cross-hatchings and parallel lines, are repeated and are thought to convey ownership or purpose and to differentiate the eggs from each other. The researchers, led by Pierre-Jean Texier of the University of Bordeaux, examined 270 inch-long egg fragments, found in the Diepkloof Rock Shelter in Western Cape, South Africa.