Early homo sapiens are believed to have evolved from a species that lived in southern Africa. Through evolution and survival development, the use of our hands went from climbing to avoid predators and collecting food to creating inventions and tools for day to day survival (hunting, fishing, digging for vegetation, etc.) After this development, then came the invention of writing, which first began as a series of images and symbols. The earliest human markings were discovered in Africa; they are thought to be over two hundred thousand years old, i.e: The Paleolithic to Neolithic era. Two very famous locations, the Cave of Lascaux and The Altamira, contain elaborate drawings for miles underground. These drawings, ranging from charcoal-made black to a series of warm tones, depict animals, perhaps for ceremonial or religious reasons.
Until recent discoveries, archaeologists believed that Mesopotamia was the cradle of civilization, now it is believed that early peoples in Thailand may have practiced agriculture and manufactured pottery at an even earlier date. By 6000 BCE, objects were being hammered from copper; the Bronze age occurred in 3000 BCE to give you an idea. Thanks to record keeping from those times, we are able to gather important facts regarding taxes, food storage and trade, and community needs. One theory on the origin of visible language is that the need arose from the desire to identify contents of sacks and pottery containers used to store food. Clay tags with identifiers were used, with the amount was depicted with an elementary decimal numbering system based on the ten human fingers. By the time of the first dynasty (3100 BCE), a great deal of inventions had reached Egypt, including the Cylinder Seal, decorative motifs, architectural brick designs, and writing fundamentals. Unlike the Sumerians, the Egyptians continued with their picture-writing system (Hieroglyphics, Greek for "sacred carving").
