Cuneiform and Hieroglyphics
Do you know how the earliest writing started thousands of
years ago? In about 3,000 BC, two types of writing were developed.
They were called Cuneiform and Hieroglyphics. In some ways they
are different, yet they are also similar.
Cuneiform writing was developed in Mesopotamia to keep track
of records. It consisted of wedged-shaped symbols. They also
produced works of stories. The oldest form of literature is the story
called Epic of Gilgamesh. An epic is a long poem that talks about
heroes; Cuneiform was written on clay tablets. To write in the clay,
they had to use a reed that grew on the side of the Nile River to make
the symbols.
On the other hand, hieroglyphics were created in Egypt, not
Mesopotamia. Hieroglyphics were usually written on papyrus and
stone. These symbols are pictures of objects that represent words
and sounds. For an example, to communicate the idea of a boat then
a scribe would draw a boat. Other objects stood for sounds, like
letters in the American alphabet.
They both represent thousands of words about things about
trade, and rules. They’re two of the most important earliest types of
writing. They were both developed thousands of years ago by
scribes who both men and boys.
Finally, these ancient forms of writing from long ago are similar
and different in ways.