Cuneiform is a writing system or script which was developed by the ancient Sumerians in Ancient 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 in trade. The word cuneiform actually comes from the Latin for wedge, cuneus, since to write cuneiform, scribes would have pressed a triangular-shaped reed stylus into soft clay which produced the wedge-like impressions.
Cuneiform was used by all of the great Mesopotamian civilisations until alphabetic scripts became more popular in around 100 BCE. Some of these cultures were; the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Elamites, Hatti, Hittites, Assyrians and the Hurrians. Cuneiform has been found on clay tablets (often referred to ad cuneiform tablets), in a number of different languages including Babylonian cuneiform and Sumerian cuneiform. The earliest form of cuneiform is known as proto-cuneiform. This early script was pictorial, since the tablets addressed tangible things like how much cattle were traded, a battle, the amount of grain collected as taxes, a flood or a king. The development in cuneiform script meant that emotions, intent, and intangible ideas could be better expressed, and in general, the texts were more detailed and clearer.
Did you know that before the discovery of the Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets,
the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world?
Stick around to learn more about the first written language in the world.
Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly,
and today we're going to take a deep dive into the world's oldest form of writing, cuneiform.
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Cuneiform is a writing system or script which was developed by the ancient Sumerians in
Mesopotamia between 3500 and 3000 BCE. It is the oldest form of writing in the world
and is thought to have developed so people could communicate long distance in trade.
A merchant would send a sealed clay tablet with a list of the goods he was sending,
like a shipping manifest, written in cuneiform. The recipient would then be able to verify
that the full shipment was received and nothing had been stolen.
The word cuneiform actually comes from the Latin for wedge, cuneus. Since to write cuneiform,
scribes would have pressed a triangular-shaped reed stylus into soft clay, which produced the
wedge-like impressions. When the clay hardened, one had a written work, either a letter or a
seat, a story or a poem, and these can still be read 5000 years after they were written.
Cuneiform was used by all of the great Mesopotamian civilizations until alphabetic
scripts became more popular in around 100 BCE. Some of these cultures were the Sumerians,
Akkadians, Babylonians, Elamites, Hatti, Hittites, Assyrians, and the Hurrians.
When the tablets with cuneiform inscribed on them were found in Mesopotamia,
what many of the archaeologists were actually looking for was physical evidence of biblical
narratives. What they discovered instead were tablets with stories and legends written on them,
including the Epic of Gilgamesh, which included the great flood myth, and other early forms of
well-known biblical tales, but more on that later. The earliest form of cuneiform is known as
proto-cuneiform. This early script was pictorial since the tablets addressed tangible things,
like how much cattle was traded, a battle, the amount of grain collected as taxes,
a flood, or a king. When the subject matter of the texts became more complex and was about
intangible things as well, like a quest for immortality, romantic love, or the will of the
gods, the script developed in order to convey these concepts. This development had occurred
by 3000 BCE, which signaled the change from a pictorial script to a word concept script.
This innovation not only made the meaning of the text clearer, but the total number of characters
used was drastically reduced, from over 1000 to 600. For example, something recorded in
proto-cuneiform might have shown signs for two sheep, a temple, a goddess Inanna, but couldn't
tell you whether the sheep were going to the goddess Inanna's temple or coming from it,
whether they were alive or dead, or what purpose they served,
whether offering payment for services as pets or as food. The development in cuneiform script
meant that emotions, intent, and intangible ideas could be better expressed, and in general,
the texts were more detailed and clearer. Two of the most well-known pieces of literature
written in cuneiform and found on Mesopotamian clay tablets are the Epic of Gilgamesh and the
Enuma Elish. The Epic of Gilgamesh is the earliest example of epic poetry, and the Enuma Elish is the
Mesopotamian creation myth, which explains their beliefs regarding the creation of the universe.
The discovery of the cuneiform tablets was also important for our understanding of the origins
of many biblical tales. The tale of the Garden of Eden could be understood as a story derived
from the Enuma Elish, and there were also early versions of the Flood myth and the Fall of Man.
The concept of a dying and reviving god, a deity who dies and returns to life for the good of
others, which is a concept famously appearing in the Christian New Testament, was actually first
an ancient model expressed in Mesopotamian poetry such as the Descent of Inanna. Prior to the
discovery of the cuneiform tablets, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the world,
and the Song of Solomon was believed to be the world's oldest love poem.
Both of these claims are no longer accepted by scholars as truth, and if you want to learn more
about the love song of Shusin, the world's oldest love poem, I'll leave a link to it in the comments
below. Do you know of any myths that have been transmitted across cultures in time? Let us know
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