Cross

===Pre-Christian===
[[File:Radanhaenger-edited.jpg|thumb|Bronze Age "wheel pendants" in the shape of the "[[sun cross]]" ([[Urnfield culture]], 2nd millennium BC).]]

Due to the simplicity of the design (two intersecting lines), cross-shaped incisions make their appearance from deep prehistory; as [[petroglyph]]s in European [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] caves, dating back to the beginning of the [[Upper Paleolithic]], and throughout prehistory to the [[Iron Age]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bailey|first= Douglass W.|title=Prehistoric figurines : representation and corporeality in the Neolithic|date=2005|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-203-39245-0|location=London|oclc=252740876}}</ref>
Also of prehistoric age are numerous variants of the simple cross mark, including the ''[[swastika|crux gammata]]'' with curving or angular lines, and the Egyptian ''[[ankh|crux ansata]]'' with a loop.

Speculation has associated the cross symbol – even in the prehistoric period – with astronomical or cosmological [[symbology]] involving
"[[classical element|four elements]]" (Chevalier, 1997) or the [[cardinal directions|cardinal points]], or the unity of a vertical [[axis mundi]] or celestial pole with the horizontal [[world]] (Koch, 1955). Speculation of this kind became especially popular in the mid- to late-19th century in the context of [[comparative mythology]] seeking to tie [[Christian mythology]] to ancient [[Religious cosmology|cosmological myths]]. Influential works in this vein included
G. de Mortillet (1866),<ref>G. de Mortillet, "Le signe de la croix avant le christianisme", Paris, 1866</ref> L. Müller (1865),<ref>L. Müller, "Ueber Sterne, Kreuze und Kränze als religiöse Symbole der alten Kulturvölker", Copenhagen, 1865</ref> W. W. Blake (1888),<ref>W. W. Blake, [https://archive.org/details/crossancientmode00blak "The Cross, Ancient and Modern"] New York, 1888</ref> Ansault (1891),<ref>Ansault, "Mémoire sur le culte de la croix avant Jésus-Christ", Paris, 1891.</ref> etc.

[[File:LAK-617.png|thumb|[[Archaic cuneiform]] character LAK-617 (𒔁): a cruciform arrangement of five boxes; scribes could use the central, larger box as container for other characters.]]

In the [[European Bronze Age]] the cross symbol appeared to carry a [[Prehistoric religion|religious meaning]], perhaps as a symbol of consecration, especially pertaining to burial.<ref>"In the bronze age we meet in different parts of Europe a more accurate representation of the cross, as conceived in Christian art, and in this shape it was soon widely diffused. This more precise characterization coincides with a corresponding general change in customs and beliefs. The cross is now met with, in various forms, on many objects: fibulas, cinctures, earthenware fragments, and on the bottom of drinking vessels. De Mortillet is of opinion that such use of the sign was not merely ornamental, but rather a symbol of consecration, especially in the case of objects pertaining to burial. In the proto-Etruscan cemetery of Golasecca every tomb has a vase with a cross engraved on it. True crosses of more or less artistic design have been found in Tiryns, at Mycenæ, in Crete, and on a fibula from Vulci." O. Marucchi, "Archæology of the Cross and Crucifix", ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1908).</ref>

The cross sign occurs trivially in [[tally marks]], and develops into a [[number symbol]] independently in the [[Roman numerals]] (X "ten"), the Chinese [[Counting rods|rod numerals]] ([[:wikt:十|十]] "ten") and the [[Brahmi numerals]] ("four", whence the numeral [[4 (number)|4]]).

In the [[Phoenician alphabet]] and [[Semitic abjad|derived scripts]], the cross symbol represented the phoneme /t/, i.e. the letter [[taw]], which is the historical predecessor of Latin [[T]]. The letter name ''taw'' means "mark", presumably continuing the [[Egyptian hieroglyph]]  "two crossed sticks" ([[List of hieroglyphs/Z|Gardiner Z9]]).<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |title=Taw (Tav) |first1=Jeff A. |last1=Benner |publisher= Ancient Hebrew Research Center |work= The Ancient Hebrew Letters |access-date= 17 June 2015 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150617143555/http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/3_taw.html |archive-date= 17 June 2015 }}</ref>