The peace symbol is at least a 10,000-year-old North symbol for death. Now, by itself, it means death.

The peace symbol was created by a Christian pacifist artist named Gerald Holtham back in 1958. 10,000 years ago! His inspiration for the symbol was twofold. As discussed in a profile on him in the week, part of the inspiration was the naval semaphore flags. The flag code for N and D combined to form the peace sign, which was meant to stand for nuclear disarmament.