Oldest Media History

Media has been around longer than most of us can imagine.  It is amazing to see how drastically means of communications have changed:  from cave paintings, to video calling on touch-screen cellular phones.  Here is a list I have complied of the ten oldest forms of media I can come up with.


10.  Hieroglyphs (Egypt, 3000 BC)
9.  Paleolithic cave paintings (The first period of the Stone Age)
8.  Radio (Many contributors, 1800s)
7.  Movies (1878,  Eadweard Muybridge [first motion picture])
6.  Newspapers (Early 17th century)
5.  Electrical telegraph (1746, Jean-Antione Nollet)
4.  Carrier pigeons (First and Second World Wars)


3.  Pony Express

The Pony Express was the west's most direct means of communication from 1860 to 1861 before the telegraph came along.  It traveled from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California.  The route was approximately 1,900 miles long and was divided up by 184 different stations. At each station, the rider would pick up a new horse and then continue their journey.  Although this sounds extremely tedious now, back then it was a fast form of communication.  The Pony Express allowed people to spread word through letters and bulletins when telephones and radios were not an option.  For more information on the Pony Express, visit this Wikipedia page.

2.  Vinyl records

The digital media took huge steps in the late 1980s/early 1990s when vinyl records fell out of style.  However, they were part of an entirely different media years before that.  The creation of vinyl records can be traced back to Thomas Edison who invented the phonograph in 1877.  This was the first device that was capable of recording and producing sound.  With the help of numerous other inventors, RCA Victor launched the first record player in 1931.  Although records had many limitations (such as their easily-scratched material and time limits), they were very successful and once thought to be state of the art.  Records also were the first to scratch the surface on the digital media we get to enjoy today.  For more information on vinyl records, visit this page!

1.  Animation

Animation can date back to cave paintings and ancient flip books, both of which attempt to portray motion.  In the very late 1800s and early 1900s, several people experimented with animation and created short films.  Walt Disney Productions explored many new grounds with animation when they created the first full-length animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.  Since then, Walt Disney Productions have produced over 50 other animated films and continue to make them today.  For a full list, visit this page.  Cartoon series on television also became very popular, but have taken a drastic change in the last decade.  Now, instead of cartoon characters being silly and comical, creators attempt to make them educational.  As seen in the video above, Dora the Explorer is an example of an entertaining cartoon show with educational values.