Deep inside Gargas cave in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France, there are hundreds of hand stencils made tens of thousands of years ago by people spitting paint over their hands. What’s intriguing about these hand stencils is that many of them show missing fingers, and their meaning has puzzled archaeologists for years. A new study by Aritz Irurtzun and Ricardo Etxepare from the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France suggests that these hand stencils may reflect a Stone Age sign language. If true, this would provide evidence for the existence of hidden codes in Palaeolithic cave paintings and could even point to the earliest form of writing ever discovered.
The hand stencils, found at Gargas cave and various other cave sites around the world, have raised questions about the purpose behind their creation. Some theories propose that the missing fingers are the result of accidents, frostbite, or ritual mutilation. However, Irurtzun and Etxepare’s research indicates that the missing fingers were actually deliberately hidden to represent specific hand gestures and communicate through a sign language.
To test their hypothesis, the researchers analyzed the physiology of the hand and forearm to determine the ease with which the hand gestures depicted by the stencils could be made. They found that the observed hand gestures corresponded to specific patterns that could be easily made in the air, suggesting a deliberate communication system. Furthermore, the absence of hand stencils with physically impossible gestures supports the idea that these stencils were meant to represent a sign language.
This study builds on previous research that has suggested the presence of hidden codes in Stone Age cave paintings. Some cave symbols, such as dots, lines, and triangles, have been cataloged by Genevieve von Petzinger, indicating that Stone Age people had a repertoire of graphic signs. These signs, along with the hand stencils, may have served as a way to convey complex messages and could represent an early form of writing.
While the idea that Stone Age hand stencils represent a sign language or proto-writing system is still speculative, it offers an intriguing interpretation of these ancient artworks. Further research, including 3D imaging of the cave walls and analysis of paint marks, will provide more insights into the meaning and significance of these enigmatic hand stencils.
