question: How did ancient people from different civilizations communicate between each other?
comment: Multilingualism and pidgin languages. You still see this today in many parts of the world, where the traders speak a really poor man's trading English, just enough to haggle and barter with tourists. From wiki: > A pidgin[1][2][3] /ˈpɪdʒɪn/, or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from several languages. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the country in which they reside (but where there is no common language between the groups). Fundamentally, a pidgin is a simplified means of linguistic communication, as it is constructed impromptu, or by convention, between individuals or groups of people. A pidgin is not the native language of any speech community, but is instead learned as a second language.[4][5]
passages: History of communication
  
  Section::::Primitive times.
   Early telecommunications included smoke signals and drums. Talking drums were used by natives in Africa, and smoke signals in North America and China. Contrary to what one might think, these systems were often used to do more than merely announce the presence of a military camp.
  
  In Rabbinical Judaism a signal was given by means of kerchiefs or flags at intervals along the way back to the high priest to indicate the goat "for Azazel" had been pushed from the cliff.
   In its natural form, oral communication was, and has continued to be one of the best ways for humans to spread their message, history, and traditions to the world. 
  
  Section::::Writing.:Timeline of writing technology.
  
  BULLET::::- 30,000 BC – In ice-age Europe, people mark ivory, bone, and stone with patterns to keep track of time, using a lunar calendar.
  
  BULLET::::- 14,000 BC – In what is now Mezhirich, Ukraine, the first known artifact with a map on it is made using bone.
  
  BULLET::::- Prior to 3500 BC – Communication was carried out through paintings of indigenous tribes.
   Verbal communication is one of the earliest forms of human communication, the oral tradition of storytelling has dated back to various times in history. The development of communication in its oral form can be categorized based on certain historical periods. The complexity of oral communication has always been reflective based on the circumstance of the time period. Verbal communication was never bound to one specific area, instead, it had and continues to be a globally shared tradition of communication. People communicated through song, poems, and chants, as some examples. People would gather in groups and pass down stories, myths, and history. Oral poets from Indo-European regions were known as "weavers of words" for their mastery over the spoken word and ability to tell stories. Nomadic people also had oral traditions that they used to tell stories of the history of their people to pass them on to the next generation. 
   Section::::Written communication and its historical development.
  
  Over time the forms of and ideas about communication have evolved through the continuing progression of technology. Advances include communications psychology and media psychology, an emerging field of study.
  
  The progression of written communication can be divided into three "information communication revolutions":
  
  BULLET::::1. Written communication first emerged through the use of pictographs. The pictograms were made in stone, hence written communication was not yet mobile. Pictograms began to develop standardized and simplified forms.
   It is possible that Homo sapiens of that time used some other forms of communication, often for mnemonic purposes - specially arranged stones, symbols carved in wood or earth, quipu-like ropes, tattoos, but little other than the most durable carved stones has survived to modern times and we can only speculate about their existence based on our observation of still existing 'hunter-gatherer' cultures such as those of Africa or Oceania.
  
  Section::::Pictograms.
   BULLET::::2. The next step occurred when writing began to appear on paper, papyrus, clay, wax, and other media with commonly shared writing systems, leading to adaptable alphabets. Communication became mobile.
  
  BULLET::::3. The final stage is characterized by the transfer of information through controlled waves of electromagnetic radiation (i.e., radio, microwave, infrared) and other electronic signals.
   The history of communication stretches from prehistoric forms of art and writing through modern communication methods such as the Internet. Mass communication began when humans could transmit messages from a single source to multiple receivers. Mass communication has moved from theories such as the hypodermic needle model (or magic bullet theory) through more modern theories such as computer-mediated communication.
   In contrast to the ritual view, James W. Carey presents what he considers the more commonly recognized transmission view of communication. In the transmission view the dissemination of information constitutes the primary goal. James W. Carey defines the transmission view in terms of imparting, sending, transmitting and giving information to others. In the transmission view information is disseminated across geography largely for the purpose of control. To support this idea, James W. Carey refers to the messaging systems of ancient Egypt wherein, "transportation and communication were inseparably linked" and served as a method of control.
   The development of early writing and paper enabled longer-distance communication systems such as mail, including in the Persian Empire (Chapar Khaneh and Angarium) and Roman Empire, which can be interpreted as early forms of media. Writers such as Howard Rheingold have framed early forms of human communication as early forms of media, such as the Lascaux cave paintings and early writing. Another framing of the history of media starts with the Chauvet Cave paintings and continues with other ways to carry human communication beyond the short range of voice: smoke signals, trail markers, and sculpture.
   One of the imperial communication channels, called the "Royal Road" traversed the Assyrian Empire and served as a key source of its power. The Roman Empire maintained a vast network of roads, known as "cursus publicus", for similar purposes.
  
  Visible chains of long distance signaling, known as optical telegraphy, have also been used throughout history to convey limited types of information. These can have ranged from smoke and fire signals to advanced systems using semaphore codes and telescopes. The latter form of optical telegraph came into use in Japan, Britain, France, and Germany from the 1790s through the 1850s.
   Since primitive times, significant changes in communication technologies (media and appropriate inscription tools) have evolved in tandem with shifts in political and economic systems, and by extension, systems of power. Communication can range from very subtle processes of exchange, to full conversations and mass communication. Human communication was revolutionized with the origin of speech approximately 500,000 BCE. Symbols were developed about 30,000 years ago. The imperfection of speech, which nonetheless allowed easier dissemination of ideas and eventually resulted in the creation of new forms of communications, improving both the range at which people could communicate and the longevity of the information. All of those inventions were based on the key concept of the symbol.
   The biggest stand at the museum is called "O'zbekiston pochtasi" (Uzbek mail) and it tells about the communication and message sharing during the Middle Ages. There are some models of fortresses with signal fires built in the days of Timurides' reign, messenger-pigeons. The last object on the stand is related to the mail in modern Uzbekistan. 
   Historically, mediated communication was much rarer than the face-to-face method. Even though humans possessed the technology to communicate in space and time for millennia, the majority of the world's population lacked skills such as literacy to use them. This began to change in Europe with the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg that led to the spread of printed texts and rising literacy from the 15th century. Separately, the first print culture was Chinese in origin. Whatever the tradition, face-to-face interaction has begun to steadily lose ground to mediated communication.
   Even earlier, between 1500 and 1700, it seems that members of the Turkish Ottoman court were using a form of signed communication (Miles). Many sought-after servants were deaf, as, some argue, they were seen as more quiet and trustworthy. Many diplomats and other hearing members of the court, however, also learned and communicated amongst one another through this signing system, which was passed down through the deaf members of the court.
   Skills such as hunting, and crafting could then be taught mimetically. The use of pantomimes also allowed them to describe the past, present and future allowing them to reenact events outside of their immediate context. Over time, the amount and complexity of pantomimes evolved, creating a sufficiently mimetic language which allowed the Homo erectus to create a culture which is similar to that of modern humans.
  
  Written communication first emerged through the use of pictograms which slowly developed standardized and simplified forms. Shared writing systems were then developed leading to adaptable alphabets.
  
  Section::::Symbolic communication in humans.:Modern symbolic communication.
   Innis was influenced by the university's two eminent communications scholars, George Herbert Mead and Robert E. Park. Although he did not attend any of these famous professors' classes, Innis did absorb their idea that communication involved much more than the transmission of information. James W. Carey writes that Mead and Park "characterized communication as the entire process whereby a culture is brought into existence, maintained in time, and sedimented into institutions".
   The history of telecommunication - the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication - began thousands of years ago with the use of smoke signals and drums in Africa, America and parts of Asia. In the 1790s the first fixed semaphore systems emerged in Europe however it was not until the 1830s that electrical telecommunication systems started to appear.
  
  Section::::History of telecommunication.:Pre-electric.
  
  BULLET::::- AD 26–37 – Roman Emperor Tiberius rules the empire from the island of Capri by signaling messages with metal mirrors to reflect the sun.
   As early as 100 BC the first form of personal messaging was put into action, when human messengers were used to send messages across lands. As time went by, new methods of personal messaging developed.
   Section::::Notable studies.
   History of communication studies
  
  Various aspects of communication have been the subject of study since ancient times, and the approach eventually developed into the academic discipline known today as communication studies.
  
  Section::::Pre-20th century.
   Efficient communication networks played crucial roles in establishing ancient imperial authority and international trade. The extent of empire could be used as an 'indication of the efficiency of communication'. Ancient empires such as Rome, Persia and China, all utilized writing in collecting information and dispersing, creating enormous postal and dispatch systems. As early as in fifteenth century, news had been disseminated trans-nationally in Europe. 'The wheat traders of Venice, the silver traders of Antwerp, the merchants of Nuremberg and their trading partners shared economic newsletters and created common values and beliefs in the rights of capital.'
   BULLET::::- In the book "Shahnameh" (Book of Kings) by Firdawsi (d. 1020), Alexander the Great visited a talking tree.
  
  BULLET::::- The Greek talking elm: Philostratus spoke about two philosophers arguing beneath an elm tree in Ethiopia which spoke up to add to the conversation.
  
  BULLET::::- The Indian Tree of the Sun and the Moon told the future. Two parts of the tree trunk spoke depending on the time of day; in the daytime the tree spoke as a male and at night it spoke as a female. Marco Polo is said to have visited this tree.
   The Diyari also had a highly developed sign language, which was first noticed by Alfred William Howitt in 1891, who first mistook them for defiant or command gestures until he they realized formed part of an integral system of hand signs, of which he registered 65. One of their functions was to allow women to communicate during mourning, when a speech taboo prevailed.
  
  Section::::Country.
   The oldest known symbols created for the purpose of communication were cave paintings, a form of rock art, dating to the Upper Paleolithic age. The oldest known cave painting is located within Chauvet Cave, dated to around 30,000 BC. These paintings contained increasing amounts of information: people may have created the first calendar as far back as 15,000 years ago. The connection between drawing and writing is further shown by linguistics: in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece the concepts and words of drawing and writing were one and the same (Egyptian: 's-sh', Greek: 'graphein').
  
  Section::::Petroglyphs.
  