[MHGinTN]

Chinese characters were developed from pictographs, weren’t they?

[Jedi Master Pikachu]

Yep. But the article states that some of the 'writing' is very similar to later Chinese writing: "They say many of these symbols bear a strong resemblance to later forms of ancient Chinese characters. "

There are supposed to be over 8,000 carvings, but the ones which were found and presented to you seem to be clearly pictures rather than characters.

Case in point, the Chinese character for house may bear some resemblance to a house, and could be descended from a picture of a house (this is just hypothetical). However, would finding a carving of a house constitute find early Chinese writing? (rhetorical). It's debatable at least.