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Written language developed as huntergatherers developed more permanent agrarian
societies.
Agrarian - Agrarian is defined as an agricultural
society or farming communities.
•In
it’s earliest forms writing was developed as a way to
keep a permanent record of land, grain, and cattle.
•The
earliest known written language is known as
cuneiform . It is an elaborate system of symbols that
were created using a stylus made of reed that was
pressed into soft clay tablets and then allowed to
harden.
•This
writing system was developed in Sumer some
5,000 years ago.
The picture to the left is a sample of
cuneiform writing.
This writing system became more
developed and eventually was
used for recording historical and
political events. It was also used as
a means to record legends such as
the story of Gilgamesh, the oldest
written story in the world.
The Technology of Writing Rapidly Evolved
What was once used primarily as a means for
accounting exploded into a way to:
•Inform
•Record
•Express political, social, cultural, historical and
private thoughts
•Developed in Egypt
at the end of the 4th
Millennium B.C.
•Referred to as a “one
sign – one sound”
system of writing and
is regarded as the 1st
alphabet.
China is Also One of the Earliest Civilizations to
Create a Written Language
Unique to China, theirs is the only writing system that has not been
replaced over the years. Instead their system has evolved as a
working script from 1600 B.C to today.
Please complete the review exercise. If you have trouble with a question simply
double click the question and it will bring you to the slide where you can find the
correct answer.
1.
What is an agrarian society?
a. A society where people often move around
b. Agricultural society or farming community
c. Hunters and Gatherers
d. A society centered around learning
2. Why was writing first developed?
a. To share stories
b. To keep a record of birth
c. To keep a count of land, grain and
cattle
d. To make laws
3. What is the first known written
language?
a. Phoenician
b. Cuneiform
c. Hieroglyphics
d. Semitic
4. What people developed cuneiform?
a. Chinese
b. Egyptians
c. Mayans
d. Sumerians
5. What is the oldest written story in the world?
a. The Iliad
b. The Odyssey
c. Gilgamesh
d. Ali Baba
6. Who developed Hieroglyphics?
a. The Incas
b. The Sumerians
c. The Egyptians
d. The Japanese
7. What does the Sumerian word “sang” mean?
a. Singer
b. Accountant
c. Herdsman
d. Scribe
8. The discovery of what stone enabled scholars
to decipher the meaning of some of the
hieroglyphics?
a. The Rock of Gibraltar
b. The Sword in the Stone
c. The Stalagmite
d. The Rosetta Stone
9. What ancient civilizations written
language is still in use today?
a. China
b. Egypt
c. Mayan
d. Sumerian
10.What are some other uses for writing besides
accounting?
a. Inform
b. Record
c. Expression
d. All of the above
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Picture of Cuneiform, http://ete.usf.edu/clipart/19200/19279/cuneiform

http://www.pbs.org/opd/histroydetectives/investigations/304_word.html
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Picture of Hieroglyphics, http://www.jillstanek.com/archives/hieroglyphics.jpg
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Picture of Chinese writing, http://www.ancientscripts.com/chinese.html
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Information on the audio file was taken from,
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab33