The cross is the symbol of the church today. But when was the cross created?

The cross is older than the modern church. The symbol was already known in ancient times.

A team of researchers led by archaeologist Dr. Lee Berger has now investigated the Rising Star fetching system in South Africa. The already extinct human species Homo Naledi buried its fellows in these holes. The graves are a full 100,000 years older than the graves of modern humans or Neanderthals.

Researchers have discovered mural paintings carved into the walls. The geometric symbols were carved around 115,500 years before the birth of Christ. The wall paintings by Homo Naledi are a full 80,000 years older than the oldest wall paintings by the Neanderthals. Among the geometric symbols such as squares, triangles, lines, etc., researchers have also discovered the cross.

Source

Lee Berger, Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, eLife, https://elifesciences.org/articles/09560, 10. 9. 2015.

Lee Berger, Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi, Biorxiv, https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.06.01.543127v1.full, 5. 6. 2023.

Ashley Strickland, Mysterious species buried their dead and carved symbols 100,000 years before humans, CNN, https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/05/world/homo-naledi-burials-carvings-scn/index.html, 7. 6. 2023.