ArticleScientific data2020
SignBase, a collection of geometric signs on mobile objects in the Paleolithic.
Article in Scientific data, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Coding choices and short-sequence artifacts undermine claims of a conventional Paleolithic sign system.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Humans 40,000 y ago developed a system of conventional signs.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Early human collective practices and symbolism in the Early Upper Paleolithic of Southwest Asia.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- A 39,600-year-old leather punch board from Canyars, Gavà, Spain.Science advances · 2023Article
- A 41,500 year-old decorated ivory pendant from Stajnia Cave (Poland).Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Article
- Mark Making and Human Becoming.Journal of archaeological method and theory · 2021Article
- SignBase, a collection of geometric signs on mobile objects in the Paleolithic.Scientific data · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In the Paleolithic, geometric signs are abundant. They appear in rock art as well as on mobile objects like artworks, tools, or personal ornaments. These signs are often interpreted as a reflection of symbolic thought and associated with the origin of cognitively modern behavior. SignBase is a project collecting the wealth of geometric signs on mobile objects in the European Upper Paleolithic, African Middle Stone Age (MSA), as well as selected sites from the Near East and South East Asia. Currently, more than 500 objects of the Aurignacian techno-complex (ca. 43,000 to 30,000 years BP) are registered in SignBase. They are linked to information about geographic and archaeological provenience, the type of object and material, size and preservation, and respective literature references. We identify around 30 different sign types found on these objects across Europe in the Aurignacian and illustrate how SignBase can be used to analyze geographical clusters. Ultimately, we aim to enable quantitative analyses of abstract graphical expression before the emergence of writing.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.