Sumerian terracotta tablet with pictographs (c. 3500 BC, during theLate Uruk Period). Dimensions ar
Sumerian terracotta tablet with pictographs (c. 3500 BC, during theLate Uruk Period). Dimensions are 7.4 x 4.8 x 2.6 cm.This tablet is inscribed with an early form of cuneiform, a writingsystem first developed by the Sumerians in the second half of the 4thmillennium BC. This was the first writing system in the world, andthe most significant of Sumer’s cultural contributions.The word “cuneiform” comes from the Latin cuneus, meaning“wedge”. A reed stylus is used to press into soft, damp claythat has been hardened somewhat, to produce wedge-like impressions. The clay is then fired to make the records last.These wedge-like impressions were at first pictographs (like above). Later on, cuneiform developed to include phonograms (symbolsrepresenting vocal sounds). However, it was never a full alphabeticscript.All the great Mesopotamian civilizations used cuneiform. It was usedto record 16 languages, including Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian,Eblaite, Elamite, Hattic, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Old Persian,Sumerian and Urartian.Cuneiform had a 3000-year history, but was abandoned for thealphabetic script around 100 BC. The most recent cuneiform tabletthat we know of is an astronomical diary from 75 AD. -- source link
#history#languages#writing#uruk period#mesopotamia#sumer#sumerian language#akkadian language#assyrian language#babylonian language#eblaite language#elamite language#hattic language#hittite language#hurrian language#luwian language#urartian language#cuneiform#sumerian cuneiform