Tan Laya multimedia producer and creative director now focused on LOVE ARTIFICIAL, a pr

History of Communication - Visualized

30 Apr 2023 · 3 min

Watch on YouTube

2:44

The video provides a concise, chronological overview of human communication over the past 150,000 years. It begins with pre‑linguistic, non‑verbal communication—body language, facial expressions, gestures, and basic sounds—used by early hominins for at least 150,000 years. Around 100,000 years ago spoken language emerges, enabling complex oral exchange for roughly the next 95,000 years. The first written systems appear circa 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt, using pictographs and hieroglyphics. Around 800 BCE the Greek alphabet introduces a phonetic, alphabetic script that spreads throughout the Mediterranean. In the early 2nd century CE, paper is invented in China, later facilitating the development of movable type in the 11th century, though it does not become widespread until Gutenberg’s printing press in the early 1400s. The narrative jumps to the modern era, noting the invention of the World Wide Web in 1989, which marks the latest major leap in communication technology. Throughout, the video emphasizes the progressive acceleration of communication methods, from slow, labor‑intensive media to instantaneous digital networks.

Chapters

History of communication visualized. The earliest known writing systems were from around 3000 BCE in Mesopotamia and Egypt, consisting of pictographic symbols and hieroglyphics. The development of the Greek alphabet started around 800 BCE. Paper was invented in China in the beginning of the 2nd century. Movable type was invented in the 11th century but was never widely used until the printing press was invented in the early 1400s. And the World Wide Web was first invented in 1989. This is the most recent 5,000 years. Before that for around 100,000 years, without any form of written communication, humans relied on spoken language. And before that, For at least 150,000 years, humans had no ability to write nor to speak, and therefore communicated nonverbally through body language, facial expressions, gestures, and sounds.