The first signs. Unlocking the mysteries of the world’s oldest symbols.

First Atria books hardcover edition. Contents: Introduction; Two Red Dots; Once Upon a Time in Africa ...; Glimmers of a Modern Mind; Intermittent Signals; Welcome to the Ice Age; Venuses, Lion-Men, and Signs Beyond the Mundane World; Life and Death in the First Villages; How to Make Cave Art; Signs Across the Ages: The Many Styles of the Oldest Art; Of Animals and Humans and Strange Tableaux; Patterns: Trading Signs and Sharing Symbols; Chicken or Egg: A Brief History of Language, Brains, and Writing; The Lady of St. Germain-la-Rivière and Her Mysterious Necklace; Through the Eyes of the Ancestors: A Rock Art Epiphany; Feather or Weapon: The Real-World Meanings of Cave Signs; Seeing the Unseen World: Visions, Shamans, and the Seven Signs; Conclusion; Acknowledgements; Notes; Index.