Writing System
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Transcript of Writing System
Writing SystemOver five thousand years ago, people living in
Mesopotamia developed a form of writing to record
and communicate different types of
information.
The earliest writing was based on pictograms.
Pictograms were used to communicate basic
information about crops and taxes.
Over time, the need for writing changed and the signs developed into a
script we call cuneiform.
Over thousands of years, Mesopotamian scribes recorded daily
events, trade, astronomy, and
literature on clay tablets. Cuneiform was
used by people throughout the ancient
Near East to write several different
languages.
Around 3100 B.C. people began to
record amounts of different crops. Barley was one of the most important crops in
southern Mesopotamia and when it was first
drawn it looked like this.
Farmers brought their barley to the temple
stores. A record was kept of how much barley was received. When some of the barley was given to temple workers this was
also recorded on a tablet.
The barley sign usually had a number next to it
to show how much barley was being given in to the temple or taken away.
The barley sign changed shape when
the scribes used a writing tool with a squared-off end
instead of a point.
The end of this tool was used to press wedge shapes like
these into clay tablets.
It is at this point that the signs became
what we call cuneiform.
The barley sign had to be written using
several wedges.
Sumerian Akkadian English
Udu Seni Sheep
Udu Si-e-ni She-ep
You can write any language using cuneiform. For example, let's use the word for sheep:
ScribesScribes were very important people. They were trained to write
cuneiform and record many of the languages spoken in
Mesopotamia.
Without scribes, letters would not have been written or read, royal monuments would not have been carved with cuneiform, and stories
would have been told and then forgotten.
Scribes wrote on different shaped objects depending on the type of
information they wanted to record.
Cylinder SealsCylinder seals were small carved cylinders made of stone or metal.
Scenes of gods, animals and men were carved into the seal so when it was rolled on the clay, it would leave an impression. This would act like a
signature.
Some cylinder seals also had cuneiform signs carved on them
which recorded the name and title of the seal owner. Seals were rolled
over clay tablets which were nearly dry.
Seals and Signatures
Other types of seals were also used. Stamp seals were small pieces of carved stone or metal which were stamped into the damp
clay of a tablet.
Not everyone needed a seal, or could afford to have their own. These people would use their
fingernail to 'sign' a tablet. This is an example of a tablet which has been
'signed' with a person's fingernail mark.
Scribes created the wedge shapes which
made cuneiform signs by pressing the stylus
into a clay or wax surface.
Curriculum Tablet
This is known today as a 'curriculum
tablet'. It was used in Mesopotamian
schools to teach pupils about the different types of texts written by
scribes.
This part of the tablet is a spelling exercise.
A cuneiform sign, which can be read as 'nish', is repeated down
the left hand side. Other signs are written beside it to make different words. For example, half way down
this section the signs read:
nish-gil nish-gi-il
nish-shi-ish nish-shish
Scribes practised writing the same words in many ways which helped
them learn different cuneiform signs.
This part of the tablet says: Sargon, mighty king, king of Agade, am I.
My mother was a high priestess, my father I knew not;My father's brothers live in the mountains;
My city is Azupiranu, situated on the banks of the EuphratesMy mother, the high priestess, conceived me, in secret she bore
me;She placed me in a basket of rushes, she sealed the lid with
bitumen;She cast me into the river which did not rise over me;
The river bore me up and carried me to Aqqi, the water-drawer.Aqqi, the water-drawer, lifted me out as he dipped his bucket;
Aqqi, the water-drawer, adopted me, brought me up;Aqqi, the water-drawer, set me up as his gardener.
As a gardener, Ishtar, loved me;For 55 years I ruled as king.
Contract and EnvelopeSome clay tablets were wrapped in an extra layer of clay which
acted like an envelope. A version of the
information on the tablet was sometimes
written on the envelope.
Part of this envelope has broken off,
showing the top of the tablet inside.
Why were some tablets sealed in envelopes?Envelopes were for security. If important
information was written on a tablet, for example the amount of silver being sent
with a merchant, it was covered in an clay envelope.
If somebody questioned the amount of silver, the envelope could be broken and
the tablet read.
It would not have been possible to change the numbers on the tablet inside the
envelope.
Writing BoardsScribes sometimes used
cuneiform on writing boards. These boards were made of wood or
ivory with a writing surface covered with
wax. The wax could be melted and reused.
This is an ivory writing board from about 715 B.C. It was found in a
well at Nimrud.