Genevieve von Petzinger, The First Signs.
Although the full story of human origins may forever remain an enigma, over the last twenty years scientists have been able to uncover new clues as to who we are as a species. Shedding light on when we first became “cognitively modern” has been for archeologist Dr. Genevieve von Petzinger an ice-age journey into some very cramped spaces.
In The First Signs; Unlocking the Mysteries of the World’s Oldest Symbols, Dr. von Petzinger tells the fascinating account of deciphering geometric designs on the walls of prehistoric caves. Her quest for answers inspires reflection on both the primordial beginnings and remarkable nature of the human race.
The ability to form connections with one another beyond the immediacy of the present moment by the use of graphic imagery indicates the genesis of abstract reasoning by our distant ancestors. Early humans discovered, perhaps by happy chance, the secret of moving from potentiality to actuality through the use of the creative imagination.
Like many things in life that are free, however, we scarcely recognize the value. We fail to cultivate the ability to refashion our world through the use of skills which took tens of thousands of years to evolve.
The story within Dr. von Petzinger’s research can provide a new, and perhaps needed, surge of encouragement for our lives, if drawn upon thoughtfully. We can contemplate in these early attempts at written communication the giants upon whose shoulders we all now stand; people who first broke free of what they were, to become what they could be.
All of us share in this age-old legacy. By having received the incomparable gift of the human mind, we can dream and envision and shape what surrounds us. We can connect with those whom we do not yet know and may never meet by what we resolve to build and leave behind today.
Each of us has a personal chance to leave our mark within the ongoing mystery of creation. A birthright both ancient and fated, embodied mystically within every person’s hand, a destiny set in motion by human thought, a very long time ago.
“The first instance of making an intentional graphic mark was one of the most profoundly important moments in our species’ history … That message had the power to survive beyond that specific place and moment, and language had officially taken on a life of its own.”
