A blog that showcases the history of encryption systems, including paintings and cave writing. The Applied and Historical Use of Encryption was originally launched in May 2012 to document the role of cryptography in war and peace. However, it has since expanded to cover much more ground, from the prehistoric origins of cryptography to contemporary political uses.

Now we learn about the history of encryption by looking at cave paintings and other ancient artifacts! It’s good to know that you can still learn new things even when you think you’ve learned all there is to know.

The history of cryptography is fascinating, and many people have been interested in it.

The history of art on the other hand is also very interesting. Art has a lot to do with cryptography. Many people do not know about that connection but it is true. I am very interested in this connection between the two. That is why I am blogging about them both.

I am using this blog to showcase the history of encryption systems, including paintings and cave writing. I hope you find it interesting too!

While archaeologists and historians have linked encryption to cave paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and the Indus Valley Civilization, this blog is actually documenting the use of cryptography in contemporary art. The idea behind this blog is that cryptography has been used for time immemorial to protect information, and continues to be used in contemporary society.

Be sure to check out the cave art.

For more information on the history of encryption, see: The Code Book by Simon Singh; The Codebreakers by David Kahn; and Cryptography Engineering by Bruce Schneier.

The current use of encryption is shifting from the realm of government and corporate information to the realm of personal information. This shift is due to the increase in computer and internet security. There are two main reasons why we need encryption. The first reason is to protect ourselves, or certain people, from spying eyes. The second is to protect our information from possible hackers.

The most recognizable form of encryption was used by the military. Their version uses a substitution system, which is based on a key, or password. By using the substitution system, if someone were to intercept the message, all they would see is a series of symbols that would mean nothing to them. One of the more famous examples of this type of encryption was in World War II when Allied forces sent out messages that contained no actual information; only information about where and when to attack.

These days, encrypted messages are also used by corporations in order to protect their clients’ information from being intercepted by competitors or other nefarious forces. In order for this type of encryption to work, however, there has to be some way for the intended recipient to obtain the key needed for decryption.*

The cave paintings at Lascaux, France are among the most beautiful representations of animals ever created by man. They are also among the most mysterious as well. How did prehistoric peoples create these astounding images? What meaning do they hold for us today?

In fact, their creation was probably a rather mundane affair. A group of ancient hunters probably went out into the countryside, killed a few bison, and dragged them back to their cave to eat. But then they discovered that their new game had some unusual features: an animal with a strange pattern on its side or a strange configuration of dots…

Among these animals, the hunters chose which ones most resembled the images in their dreams. In order to ensure that others would recognize these images, they painted them in caves. The bison served as a canvas for artistic expression, and the walls of the caves served as their gallery.

This process of creating art in caves is not unlike our modern-day use of computers, television sets, and billboards to create our own images. In fact, when we look at one of the Lascaux paintings today and see something familiar in it – perhaps an image of a fish or a bird – we might recognize it as something we saw on TV last night or as part of a

The earliest known use of cryptography is found in non-standard hieroglyphs carved into monuments from the Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdoms (c. 2686 – 2040 B.C.). From the middle of the 3rd millennium BC, the Egyptians began to use writing as well as symbols within their drawings to convey information about quantities or represent words. For example, a basket with an udder could stand for “good,” or a cow with a woman’s head could refer to the goddess Hathor.

Tomb inscriptions from roughly 2000 B.C., called the Pyramid Texts, are written in such a way that they cannot be understood unless the reader knows how to interpret hieroglyphs. These inscriptions were placed on the walls of nobles’ tombs in order to guide them through their journey after death; they describe how these individuals will transform into gods, travel to heaven and defeat enemies in battles while they await their turn to ascend to the sky.

Texts were also written on coffins as ritual guides for family members who wanted guidance and protection during their deceased relative’s journey into the afterlife. Certain spells would protect against specific dangers or enemies along this path, such as worms or water demons that tried to harm the dead person’s soul.*