Paleolithic Writing Instructors
inspired by Gary Snyder’s essay,‘The Fiftieth Millenium’
As someone occasionally employed teaching ‘creative writing,’
I’m keen to learn of my antecedents.
Scholars of the prehistoric cave paintings found in Europe
(dating back over 30,000 years) noticed that many of the sites
also have numerous bear-claw scratchings on their walls,
bear-graffiti, in essence, which may well have inspired
our artist-ancestors to also ‘make their marks,’ with expressions
that preceded, and may have eventually led to, written language.
If you trace the word ‘grammar’ to its origins,
it means ‘scratches.’We may well have been
taught to write
by bears
—Harvey Taylor, Milwaukee
