The First Written Language, Called Cuneiform Script, was Developed by the Sumerian Civilization.

9 Mar

This particular form of writing evolved around the 34th Century BC from a Mesopotamian form of counting that has been dated back even further than that; as early as 8,000 BC! You know when they talk about ancient Aramaic in the movies; this is way older.

What the Fact?

Cuneiform Script (click to zoom)

Cuneiform was written in clay, as per the image above, using a reed stylus. The reason it came about was simply due to the fact that as civilization grew, a dependable form of long distance communication was required to record things like trade transactions. Over a period of around 3,000 years cuneiform became simpler by reducing the number of characters from around 1,000 in the early bronze age to about 400 in the late bronze age. It is responsible for the development of many other languages including being the inspiration for the old Persian alphabet.