We've all seen the image before.

A dusty red cloud painted on the wall of a cave, with the imprint of a hand in the

center of it.

It looks as if someone placed their palm against the cold surface of the rock and then sprayed

paint over it, and yet this artwork predates spray paint by thousands of years.

It's one of many examples of artwork-founding caves across Spain and France, ranging from

10,000 to 40,000 years in age, and similar caves have been found across the globe.

Small reminders that our predecessors were just as interested in leaving their mark as

modern-day YouTube stars and social media influencers.

It's an impulse we all share.

No doubt about it.

But there's more.

In recent years, scholars have begun to notice a pattern.

Whether these caves are located in Spain, East Africa, Australia, or Malaysia, the symbols

painted on their walls all seem to be pulled from a common lexicon.

They act like the emoji on our mobile devices, each one representing an idea or a message,

and it's breathtaking to consider.

40,000 years ago, there was a global, stone age messaging system.

These symbols show us something else, though, too.

For a very long time, people have been drawn to the darkness of caves, whether it was in

pursuit of shelter from the cold and rain, or in search of resources that could be used

to improve our lives, venturing into the darkness of the earth, as always offered us hope and

...