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 city of Uruk, which advanced the writing of cuneiform c. 3200 BCE and allowed for the creation of literature.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 3500 BCEFirst written evidence of religion in the world recorded on Sumerian tablets.
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c. 3500 BCECuneiform script developed by Sumerians.
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c. 3200 BCECuneiform script further developed and advanced in the city of Uruk.
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3000 BCECuneiform script refined.
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2900 BCE - 2334 BCECuneiform script develops fully during the Early Dynastic Period of Mesopotamia.
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2285 BCE - 2250 BCELife of Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad, and world's first author known by name.
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c. 2150 BCE - c. 1400 BCEThe tales of Gilgamesh written which inform The Epic of Gilgamesh
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c. 1900 BCE - c. 1600 BCEComposition of The Descent of Inanna.
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c. 1640 BCE - c. 1700 BCEWritten form of the Atrahasis Myth of the Great Flood.
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c. 647 BCE - c. 629 BCEExtensive collection of clay tablets acquired known as Ashurbanipal's Library at Nineveh.
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c. 100 BCECuneiform abandoned for alphabetic script.
