<s>
A	O
pictogram	B-Application
,	O
also	O
called	O
a	O
pictogramme	B-Application
,	O
pictograph	B-Application
,	O
or	O
simply	O
picto	O
,	O
and	O
in	O
computer	O
usage	O
an	O
icon	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
graphic	O
symbol	O
that	O
conveys	O
its	O
meaning	O
through	O
its	O
pictorial	O
resemblance	O
to	O
a	O
physical	O
object	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
are	O
often	O
used	O
in	O
writing	O
and	O
graphic	O
systems	O
in	O
which	O
the	O
characters	O
are	O
to	O
a	O
considerable	O
extent	O
pictorial	O
in	O
appearance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
pictogram	B-Application
may	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
subjects	O
such	O
as	O
leisure	O
,	O
tourism	O
,	O
and	O
geography	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictography	B-Application
is	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
writing	O
which	O
uses	O
representational	O
,	O
pictorial	O
drawings	B-Application
,	O
similarly	O
to	O
cuneiform	B-Language
and	O
,	O
to	O
some	O
extent	O
,	O
hieroglyphic	O
writing	O
,	O
which	O
also	O
uses	O
drawings	B-Application
as	O
phonetic	O
letters	O
or	O
determinative	O
rhymes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
pictograms	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Hazards	O
pictograms	B-Application
,	O
are	O
elements	O
of	O
formal	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Pictograph	B-Application
"	O
has	O
a	O
different	O
definition	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
prehistoric	O
art	O
(	O
which	O
includes	O
recent	O
art	O
by	O
traditional	O
societies	O
)	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
means	O
art	O
painted	O
on	O
rock	O
surfaces	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
images	O
may	O
or	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
considered	O
pictograms	B-Application
in	O
the	O
general	O
sense	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Early	O
written	O
symbols	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
pictographs	B-Application
(	O
pictures	O
which	O
resemble	O
what	O
they	O
signify	O
)	O
and	O
ideograms	O
(	O
symbols	O
which	O
represent	O
ideas	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
are	O
still	O
in	O
use	O
as	O
the	O
main	O
medium	O
of	O
written	O
communication	O
in	O
some	O
non-literate	O
cultures	O
in	O
Africa	O
,	O
the	O
Americas	O
,	O
and	O
Oceania	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
are	O
often	O
used	O
as	O
simple	O
,	O
pictorial	O
,	O
representational	O
symbols	O
by	O
most	O
contemporary	O
cultures	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
can	O
be	O
considered	O
an	O
art	O
form	O
,	O
or	O
can	O
be	O
considered	O
a	O
written	O
language	O
and	O
are	O
designated	O
as	O
such	O
in	O
Pre-Columbian	O
art	O
,	O
Native	O
American	O
art	O
,	O
Ancient	O
Mesopotamia	O
and	O
Painting	O
in	O
the	O
Americas	O
before	O
Colonization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
UNESCO	O
's	O
World	O
Heritage	O
List	O
added	O
"	O
Petroglyph	O
Complexes	O
of	O
the	O
Mongolian	O
Altai	O
,	O
Mongolia	O
"	O
to	O
celebrate	O
the	O
importance	O
of	O
the	O
pictograms	B-Application
engraved	O
in	O
rocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
scientists	O
in	O
the	O
field	O
of	O
neuropsychiatry	O
and	O
neuropsychology	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Mario	O
Christian	O
Meyer	O
,	O
are	O
studying	O
the	O
symbolic	O
meaning	O
of	O
indigenous	O
pictograms	B-Application
and	O
petroglyphs	O
,	O
aiming	O
to	O
create	O
new	O
ways	O
of	O
communication	O
between	O
native	O
people	O
and	O
modern	O
scientists	O
to	O
safeguard	O
and	O
valorize	O
their	O
cultural	O
diversity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
early	O
modern	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
extensive	O
use	O
of	O
pictographs	B-Application
may	O
be	O
seen	O
in	O
the	O
map	O
in	O
the	O
London	O
suburban	O
timetables	O
of	O
the	O
London	O
and	O
North	O
Eastern	O
Railway	O
,	O
1936	O
–	O
1947	O
,	O
designed	O
by	O
George	O
Dow	O
,	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
pictographs	B-Application
was	O
used	O
to	O
indicate	O
facilities	O
available	O
at	O
or	O
near	O
each	O
station	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
remain	O
in	O
common	O
use	O
today	O
,	O
serving	O
as	O
pictorial	O
,	O
representational	O
signs	O
,	O
instructions	O
,	O
or	O
statistical	O
diagrams	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
they	O
are	O
a	O
concise	O
way	O
to	O
communicate	O
a	O
concept	O
to	O
people	O
who	O
speak	O
many	O
different	O
languages	O
,	O
pictograms	B-Application
have	O
also	O
been	O
used	O
extensively	O
at	O
the	O
Olympics	O
since	O
1964	O
Tokyo	O
Summer	O
Olympics	O
,	O
designed	O
by	O
Masaru	O
Katsumi	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
redesigned	O
for	O
each	O
set	O
of	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographic	B-Application
writing	I-Application
as	O
a	O
modernist	O
poetic	O
technique	O
is	O
credited	O
to	O
Ezra	O
Pound	O
,	O
though	O
French	O
surrealists	O
credit	O
the	O
Pacific	O
Northwest	O
American	O
Indians	O
of	O
Alaska	O
who	O
introduced	O
writing	O
,	O
via	O
totem	O
poles	O
,	O
to	O
North	O
America	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Contemporary	O
artist	O
Xu	O
Bing	O
created	O
Book	O
from	O
the	O
Ground	O
,	O
a	O
universal	O
language	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
pictograms	B-Application
collected	O
from	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictograms	B-Application
are	O
used	O
in	O
many	O
areas	O
of	O
modern	O
life	O
for	O
commodity	O
purposes	O
,	O
often	O
as	O
a	O
formal	O
language	O
(	O
see	O
the	O
In	O
mathematics	O
section	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
statistics	O
,	O
pictograms	B-Application
are	O
charts	O
in	O
which	O
icons	O
represent	O
numbers	O
to	O
make	O
it	O
more	O
interesting	O
and	O
easier	O
to	O
understand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictographs	B-Application
can	O
often	O
transcend	O
languages	O
in	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
communicate	O
to	O
speakers	O
of	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
tongues	O
and	O
language	O
families	O
equally	O
effectively	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
languages	O
and	O
cultures	O
are	O
completely	O
different	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
why	O
road	O
signs	O
and	O
similar	O
pictographic	B-Application
material	O
are	O
often	O
applied	O
as	O
global	O
standards	O
expected	O
to	O
be	O
understood	O
by	O
nearly	O
all	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
standard	O
set	O
of	O
pictographs	B-Application
was	O
defined	O
in	O
the	O
international	O
standard	O
ISO	O
7001	O
:	O
Public	O
Information	O
Symbols	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
common	O
sets	O
of	O
pictographs	B-Application
are	O
the	O
laundry	O
symbols	O
used	O
on	O
clothing	O
tags	O
and	O
the	O
chemical	O
hazard	O
symbols	O
as	O
standardized	O
by	O
the	O
GHS	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Pictograms	B-Application
have	O
been	O
popularized	O
in	O
use	O
on	O
the	O
web	O
and	O
in	O
software	O
,	O
better	O
known	O
as	O
"	O
icons	O
"	O
displayed	O
on	O
a	O
computer	O
screen	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
help	O
user	O
navigate	O
a	O
computer	O
system	O
or	O
mobile	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
