THE 23 WORDS THAT MAY BE 15,000 YEARS OLD. This analysis in the Washington Post by Wilson Andrews and David Brown graphically presents the 23 words that researchers have identified as “ultraconserved”, having persisted approximately 15,000 years. Cognates for these words—words with roughly the same sound and meaning— can be found (after projecting backwards in time) in at least four of seven major language groups. Words that are used a lot are more likely to persist. Here are the words:
thou, I, not, that, we, to give, who, this, what, man/male, ye, old, mother, to hear, hand, fire, to pull, black, to flow, bark, ashes, to spit, worm