People have used codes to pass secret messages to others for thousands of years. In ancient times, people used art to send messages and tell stories ‘ it was their code. Humans started using colours and pigments about 120 000 years ago. By 35 000 years ago, humans could tell stories by painting on cave walls and on rocks.
Alphabets were invented in Egypt 4000 years ago. Alphabets are really just codes for different sounds. But, as people discovered a long time ago, they were a much quicker way of writing then using symbols.