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Cuneiform Writing
A relief of cuneiform writing from Assyria.
Exhibited in the British Museum London.

Definition
Cuneiform
Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia c. 3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians and the greatest among those of the Sumerian...

Definition
Writing
Writing is the physical manifestation of a spoken language. It is thought that human beings developed language c. 35,000 BCE as evidenced by cave paintings from the period of the Cro-Magnon Man (c. 50,000-30,000 BCE) which appear to express...

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Cracking Ancient Codes: Cuneiform Writing - with Irving Finkel
Writing is generally agreed to be among the greatest inventions in human history, perhaps the greatest invention, since it made history possible. Subscribe for regular science videos: http://bit.ly/RiSubscRibe You can read more about...

Definition
Ancient Egyptian Writing
Ancient Egyptian writing is known as hieroglyphics ('sacred carvings') and developed at some point prior to the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3150 -2613 BCE). According to some scholars, the concept of the written word was first developed in...

Article
Cuneiform Lexical Lists
Lexical lists are compilations of cuneiform signs and word readings written on clay tablets throughout Mesopotamia. From the late 4th millennium BCE up to the 1st century CE, scribal communities copied, modified, and passed on these cuneiform...

Definition
Chinese Writing
Ancient Chinese writing evolved from the practice of divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Some theories suggest that images and markings on pottery shards found at Ban Po Village are evidence of an early writing system but...

Article
Prayer to Thoth for Skill in Writing
The Prayer to Thoth for Skill in Writing is a literary piece dated to c. 1150 BCE from the latter period of the New Kingdom of Egypt (c. 1570- c. 1069 BCE) in which a young scribe prays for inspiration to Thoth, god of wisdom and writing...

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Maya Writing
The Maya hieroglyphic writing system was a sophisticated combination of pictographs directly representing objects and ideograms (glyphs) expressing more abstract concepts such as actions, ideas and syllabic sounds. Maya writing has survived...

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Cuneiform: The Earliest Form of Writing from Ancient Mesopotamia
Cuneiform is a writing system or script which was developed by the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 BCE. It is the earliest form of writing in the world and is thought to have developed so people could communicate long-distance...