Yup, the world’s oldest emoji has been found guys. Scientists were investigating a site in Turkey said to be dated back to as long as 2,000 BC. The scientists found a pot-vase which had a smiley face drawn on the side of it.
Nikolo Marchetti, the professor leading the excavation, told the media: ‘This pitcher was used to drink sherbet, a sweet drink. We have probably found the oldest smiley emoji. We do not know with which purpose the craftsmen drew this symbol on the pitcher but we call it a smile.’
The archaeologist search took place in Karkamis district – in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Turkey, which is close to the border with Syria. The dig begun May 2nd and will continue until September.
The pot-vase will now be taken to Gaziantep Museum of Archaeology located in Gaziantep, Turkey. The museum is well-known for their collection of mosaics from the ancient Roman city, Zeugma.
Prior to this find, the oldest ‘smiley emoji’ was doodled on a Slovakian legal document dating back 1635. A lawyer in Slovakia, Jan Ladislaides, was said to have signed his go-ahead by drawing the smiley: two dots and a line. Is anybody else wondering what this could’ve meant in 1635? Because we are.
Emoji’s originated on Japanese mobiles phone in the late 1990s. But since then, have become incredibly popular worldwide. Incidentally, The Emoji Movie was also released today...
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.