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One of the oldest forms of long-distance communications is the smoke signal. It’s a form of visual communication used for long distances. Smoke signals can be used to communicate news as well as to warn of dangers or bring people together in a shared area.
In order to warn each other of a threat soldiers from the Great Wall in ancient China issued smoke signals to its beacon towers. The color of the smoke communicated the size of the invading party. By placing the towers of beacons regularly, and having a soldier placed in each tower, messages could be transmitted over the entire 7,300 kilometres of the Wall. The smoke signals alerted the inner castles to the impending attack. This enabled them to coordinate defense and support troops. In ancient Sri Lanka, soldiers stationed at the tops of the mountains were able to warn each other of imminent enemy attacks (from English people, Dutch people, or Portuguese people) by signalling from peak to peak. This way, they were able to send a message to the King in just a few hours. A misapplication of the smoke signal is thought to have contributed to the downfall of the Western Zhou Dynasty in the 8th century BCE. To amuse his concubine Bao Si, King You of Zhou employed false warning beacons in order to fool his warlords. Polybius was a Greek historian, created a more sophisticated system of smoke signals that were based on the alphabet in the year 150 BCE. It transformed Greek alphabetic characters into numerical characters. This enabled messages to be swiftly signalled with torches which were held in pairs. This concept, also referred to as the «Polybius Square» is a good fit for cryptography or steganography. This cryptographic concept has been used with Japanese Hiragana and also with the Germans in the final days of the First World War. The smoke signal was also utilized by North American indigenous peoples. Each tribe had its own communication method and language. Signalers started fires at an elevation usually using damp grass, which would cause a column of smoke to rise. The grass would be trimmed off once it had dried and a second bundle was placed on top of the fire. According to legend, the smoke that escaped from the slope was a message. It would be an indication that everything is well if it comes about halfway up the hill. However, if it appears towards the top, it could signal the danger. Smoke signals remain in use to this day. The College of Cardinals uses smoke signals during conclaves of the Pope to announce the choice of a new Pope. Secret ballots are conducted by eligible cardinals until a person has a vote of least two-thirds plus. Voting ballots are burnt after each vote. Following each vote the ballots are melted to signify a failed vote and the white smoke signals that there was a new Pope was elected. Colored smoke grenades are commonly used by soldiers for marking positions, particularly during calls for artillery or air support. Smoke signals can also refer to smoke-producing equipment used to broadcast distress signals. Lewis and Clark’s journals record numerous instances where they used the Native American method of setting the plains on fire to communicate their presence or their desire to interact with tribes of the local area. Yamanas of South America used fire to send messages via smoke signals for instance when whales landed. In order to ensure that the fish didn’t go to waste the need was for many people to be notified. It is possible that they used smoke signals during other times which is why Magellan could have seen fires that inspired him to name Tierra del Fuego. However it is possible that he also observed natural phenomena or even smoke. The Cape Town Noon Gun, char-broil grills specifically the smoke its firing creates, was used to set marine chronometers in Table Bay. Smoke signals were employed by Aboriginal Australians across Australia for various purposes. They would sometimes use smoke signals to inform others about their presence, especially when they were entering lands not theirs. Smoke signals were used to indicate whites visiting. They were also used to quickly send messages. Smoke signals were used to warn of hostile tribes , or to organize for hunting parties of the same tribe. This signal could originate emanating from a fixed watchpoint at the ridge or tribal band members who moved around. The smoke used to transmit information was of different colours, often black, white or blue depending on the type of substance that was being burned. Additionally, the form of the smoke could include the form of a ball, column, or smoke rings. The message could also include the names and addresses of particular tribesmen. As with other forms of communication signals, they can be misinterpreted. For instance, a smoke signal reply that translated to «We are coming» was misinterpreted as a sign of support for the tribe. It was actually a group of hunting parties gathering after the success of their hunt. Modern aviation has made skywriting possible. Ivan, Djordjevic (2010). Coding for optical channels. Du, Yumin; Chen, Wenwu; Cui, Kai; Guo, Zhiqian; Wu, Guopeng; Ren, Xiaofeng (2021-02-16). «An exploration of the defense system for military use of the Ming Great Wall in Qinghai Province through the lens of military settlements built on castles». Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. Knox, Robert. Historical Relationship of Ceylon. Sima Qian. The Grand Historian’s Records. Extracts from the following book. E. Lucas Bridges: Uttermost Areas of the Earth. Indians of Tierra del Fuego. National Archives of Australia. Idriess, Ion L (1953). The Red Chief. Idriess L (1937). Over the Range. Gusinde, Martin (1966). Nordwind-Sudwind. Mythen und Marchen der Feuerlandindianer (in German). Itsz, Rudolf (1979). «A kihunyt tuzek foldje». Napkove. Neprajzi elbeszelesek (in Hungarian). Budapest: Mora Konyvkiado. pp. 93-112. The original text is translated as The translation is: R.F. 1974). Kamen’ solntsa (in Russian). Leningrad: Detskaya Literatura. Title is: «Stone of sun» chapter means: «The land of burnt-out fires». Fred Myers (1986). Pintupi Country, Pintupi Self.