How did ancient people communicate with each other?

To achieve these achievements, people have gone through many stages of developing means of communication. As for ancient people, how did they interact every day?

By voice

It is not surprising that 'speech' of one form or another was used as the first attempt at communication by ancient humans. Sounds and noises are used to attract the attention of others and convey simple messages. Such as hunting calls and warning calls.

In the beginning, humans had no language and no word or sentence formation. What they are trying to express can be distinguished by tone, volume, and other characteristics. Additionally, our ancestors appear to have used body language and hand signals to interact.

While basic audio is practical for communicating with people nearby, some supporting equipment is needed to convey messages to distant locations. Therefore, whistles, horns, and drums were invented later. The sounds from these tools were often used to send signals related to battle or to perform ancient rituals.

The earliest forms of spoken communication are described as simple, not yet developed enough to enable conversation but quite useful in expressing oneself and giving warnings. Later, ancient people learned to create rhythms, laying the foundation for later music and folk songs.

Image…

When the effectiveness of verbal communication no longer exists, the feasibility of visual communication increases. Sounds, screams and cries cannot explain many events or situations, which is why prehistoric people came up with visual codes.

A common example of visual communication inherited from our ancestors is the use of fire and smoke signals. For example, if people are stuck in an isolated area, without access to modern technologies like telephones and the Internet, these ancient methods of visual communication can still apply. usable.

Then, to overcome these limitations, ancient people advanced to carving images on walls, trees, rocks and other natural surfaces to transmit information.

Ancient inhabitants used stone tools and sharp objects to carve on hard surfaces, followed by similar metal objects. Most of the early carvings include drawings of animals such as tigers, deer and birds. Some drawings also show human-animal hybridization, which may have been the inspiration behind mythical creatures such as the centaur and the Minotaur.

Drums and flutes made of animal bones were popular means of communication in ancient times.

…And writing

It is unclear who invented writing first, but it may have been created independently in many regions of the world. The first forms of writing originated from hieroglyphics to describe concrete objects, gradually becoming more abstract.

The first alphabet consisting of a limited set of distinct syllables was introduced around 2000 BC. However, most symbols used in written communication do not have specific sounds assigned to them. The main uses of written communication are doing math and engraving words on tombstones.

Cuneiform writing was used to represent several languages ​​in the Near East, with examples found dating back to around 3,500 BC.

The ancient Egyptians were the first to establish a suitable and complex writing system for communication around 3100 BC. This system, named 'Proto-Sinaitic ', is believed to have been developed in the 19th century BC by Canaanite workers in the Sinai Peninsula, or in the 15th century BC by Semitic workers lives in Central Egypt.

Writings were originally written on stone and gravel surfaces, but lighter and more convenient papyrus became the standard. Although less durable than clay tablets, papyrus was still a handy alternative for recording large amounts of data.

The ancient Greeks are credited with constructing the first true alphabet in 800 BC . This alphabet, which includes symbols representing vowel sounds, has inspired the modern alphabet for generations.

The Romans introduced an alphabet to write Latin a hundred years later, which is considered a fairly advanced adaptation of the Greek alphabet and serves as the basis for several written languages ​​today.

The first postal system was established by the Persian empire in the 6th century. The 15th century marked the beginning of the printing revolution. Next came the era of Morse code and the Telegraph in the mid-19th century. Also in this century, Graham Bell invented the telephone. Radio, television and dial-up Internet were born in the 20th century.