8 Ancient Civilizations and Their Contributions to Writing
By Tushar Kumar
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Around 3400 BCE, the Sumerians developed cuneiform, an early writing system with wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets. Initially for record-keeping, it evolved to include literature, law, and religion, notably in "The Epic of Gilgamesh."
1 - Sumerians (Mesopotamia)
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In Egypt, hieroglyphs appeared around 3100 BCE, combining logographic and alphabetic elements. These symbols represented objects, ideas, and sounds, and were inscribed on temple walls, monuments, and tombs.
2 - Ancient Egyptians
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The Indus Valley Civilization, thriving around 2500 BCE, had a script still undeciphered. Found on seals and pottery, it likely served commercial or administrative purposes, reflecting a complex, organized society.
3 - Indus Valley Civilization
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The Minoans created Linear A around 1800 BCE for religious and administrative use. While undeciphered, it inspired the later Linear B script and was among Europe's earliest scripts.
4 - Minoans (Crete)
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The Phoenicians, around 1200 BCE, created the first true alphabet with 22 characters representing sounds. Their script spread via trade, influencing the Greek alphabet, which evolved into the Latin alphabet used today.
5 - Phoenicians
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Ancient China, around 1200 BCE during the Shang Dynasty, created oracle bone script, the precursor to modern Chinese writing. Inscribed on bones and shells for divination, it evolved into a logographic system still used today.
6 - Chinese Civilization
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The Mayans developed a complex writing system, Maya glyphs, around 300 BCE. This script, combining phonetic symbols and ideograms, recorded events, myths, and astronomical data on stone monuments and codices.
7 - Mesoamerican Civilizations
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Around 800 BCE, Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet, adding vowels to create an alphabet that reflected speech. This system influenced Greek, Latin, Cyrillic, and helped record works like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.