Proto-writing

The early writing systems that emerged in Eurasia in the early Neolithic period, as early as the 7th millennium BC were a development based on earlier traditions of symbol systems that cannot be classified as writing proper, but have many characteristics strikingly similar to writing. These systems may be described as proto-writing. They used ideographic and/or early mnemonic symbols or both to represent a limited number of concepts, in contrast to true writing systems, which record the language of the writer.
See also Bronze Age writing
More information on the Wikipedia page ; the Proto Writing category is and the History of Writing page is 
Category:Proto-writing
Category:Ancient World