Scribd
Upload
304 views10 pages

Cuneiform Lesson

Cuneiform was an ancient writing system developed in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. It originated from stylized pictographs that were modified into wedge-shaped symbols that could be impressed into wet clay tablets using a reed stylus. Over time, cuneiform transitioned from logographic writing to include syllabic and alphabetic elements as well. It was widely adopted across the ancient Near East and adapted to write several different languages for over 3000 years.

Uploaded by

api-323640755
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
304 views10 pages

Cuneiform Lesson

Cuneiform was an ancient writing system developed in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. It originated from stylized pictographs that were modified into wedge-shaped symbols that could be impressed into wet clay tablets using a reed stylus. Over time, cuneiform transitioned from logographic writing to include syllabic and alphabetic elements as well. It was widely adopted across the ancient Near East and adapted to write several different languages for over 3000 years.

Uploaded by

api-323640755
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 10

CUNEIFORM

& The Development of Writing

WHAT IS CUNEIFORM?

Wedge-Shaped writing system


used in the Ancient Near East
primarily in Mesopotamia, the
Levant, Asia Minor, and parts of
Persia.
Used to write several different
languages for an extensive frame
of time.

ORIGINS

~3000BC
Sumerian city of Ur
Developed from
pictographs stylized
into wedge symbols
Spread throught the
Ancient Near East by
the
Akkadians/Assyrians
Easily adapted into
several ancient
languages

HOW WAS CUNEIFORM WRITTEN?

Top to Bottom (~3000BC)


Left to Right (~2800BC)
On clay tablet with a reed stylus
By Scribes
Ideograms- symbols representing individual words
Syllabic Signs- symbols representing syllables and vowel sounds\
Thousands of Symbols

DEVELOPMENT

Pictograms (~3000BC)
Stylized pictograms
flipped sideways
Ideograms formed from
inverted pictograms
Stylized wedge shaped
Ideograms and Syllabic
symbols
Alphabetic Cuneiform
(~1300BC)

ANCIENT ALPHABETIC SYSTEMS

Two Types
Linear
~1500BC
Linear A and B
Phoenician
Cuneiform
~1300BC
Ugaritic
Proto-Persian
Mesopotamian
Levantine Orgins
Each consonant sound represented
by its own symbol

STYLES
OF WRITING
PICTORIAL/IDEOGRAPHIC

Complicated
It took many years of study
to learn all the symbols
Thousands of Symbols
High Illerteracy
Examples:
Cuneiform
Hieroglyphs
Oriental
Chinese
Japanese
Korean

ALPHABETIC

Simple
All the letters can be learned
within a year
~25-30 symbols
High Literacy
Examples
Cuneiform
Linear A and B
Aramaic
Greek
Coptic
Latin

UGARIT

Syrian city state which developed an alphabetic form of


Cuneiform
A west Semitic, Canaanite, language related to Phoenician
The Alphabet

Originally 30 letters
All Consonat based

Vowel were not written

Written from left to right


1st Cuneiform alphabet

UGARIT

HIGHER LEVEL THINKING


QUESTIONS

What are the strengths and


weaknesses of each type of
system?
If you could develop your own
writing system would it be
alphabetic, syllabic, pictorial, or a
combination form? Why?

You might also like