A smiley face, a small circle with two dots and a line, was found in a 382-year-old municipal account document once belonging to a lawyer in Slovakia. Researchers believe they have found the origins of the emoji. /CFP Photo

Researchers said the smiley face emoji appeared after a passage where all data and accounts were recorded well, and drew a smiley face before going on. The previous oldest smiley is commonly acknowledged to be found in a poem by an English poet in 1648, making it 369 years old. /CFP Photo

Researchers also discovered a drawing which looks like a pointing clown’s hand in the documents, but aren't sure whether it has the same function as a hashtag. /CFP Photo