There are thousands of years and many examples of ancient technology that leave us in awe at the knowledge and wisdom attained by people of the past. These past civilizations made incredible advances in engineering and innovation as the latest and most powerful civilizations emerged and came to control the ancient world. These advances sparked societies to adopt new ways of living and governance, as well as new ways of contemplating their world. Three examples of ancient technological that garnered my attention the most were Sumerian form of writing called cuneiform, the fascinating Assyrians made aqueducts and the sheer scale and integrity of ancient Roman architecture that was brought to the new regions of their empire. Cuneiform was the earliest form of writing in 3100 B.C.E that ushered in the world’s first Information age (Fiero 12). The creation of the Sumerian writing system happened because the Mesopotamians needed a way to keep track of clay tokens they used to count agricultural goods. This system was used to keep track of information such as religious activities, business transactions such as trade and sales. Cuneiform was used by scholars to for stories, myths, and personal letters. Cuneiform is composed of wedge-shaped characters and was written on clay tablets that resembled marks made by a chicken scratching in the mud. Many languages throughout a vast geographical span over thousands of years were written in cuneiform, including Sumerian, Hittite, Hurrian
Each of the four civilizations had a system of writing. The first form of writing was developed by the Sumerians from the Tigris-Euphrates River, called cuneiform. It had about 300 symbols and was used to mark property boundaries and charts of major constellations. Usually, a wedge-shaped stylus is used on soft clay to produce cuneiform symbols. Cuneiform was later diffused into other following cultures. The Nile River Egyptians developed a different form of writing to help maintain the Egyptian empire. It was pictographic and combined with sound signs to produce hieroglyphics. Most of their writing was done papyrus, which was a fine paper produced from the stem of a water plant. The Indus River also invented their own unique alphabet, however, to this day, it has not been deciphered yet. The most sophisticated form of writing emerged from the Chinese. They came up with characters that symbolized the idea of a thing, naming it
One of the greatest accomplishments of the Sumerians would be their creation of Cuneiform. Cuneiform was the world’s first writing system. Cuneiform was based on wedge shaped characters representing words, but later developed into representing word sounds and concepts. This was probably the most momentous contribution of the Sumerians. Writing is important to all civilizations, without it our world wouldn’t be the way it is today. Although most Sumerian citizens were illiterate and couldn’t read or right, cuneiform was a huge achievement made by the
As stated in document number one, Sumerians created cuneiform script over 5000 years ago. It was written on clay tablets, then baked hard in a kiln, according to document one. Cuneiform was created to track business dealings, keep records, and pass down ideas easily. Cuneiform was the world’s first written language, so you can see how this provided for future civilizations.
Record Keeping, this is the third characteristic of early civilization. Complex life required records for things such as taxes and laws which needed to be written down, this is called codified. Scribes are professional record keepers and historians. Cuneiform is the Samaritan form of writing. This was the earliest form of writing ever discovered. Also used was a stylus, this is a sharpened reed or strong stick, wedge shaped point used by scribes to write on clay tablets. There are four steps to the process of writing, those would be: Pictogram, ideogram, phonogram, and the
The architectural Innovations by the Sumerians included things like ramps, purchase, and columns as well as pyramid shaped as ziggurats ( Doc 1 ). Sumerians also developed weapons and tools made out of bronze and copper (Doc 1). As well, the Sumerians also came up with the first known form of writing, known as cuneiform ( Doc 1 ). These achievements help to develop and contribute to later civilizations of humankind. Their developments and architecture influenced later building styles of throughout Mesopotamia ( Doc 1 ).
The Babylonians and Assyrians used a form of writing called cuneiform, one of the earliest known systems of writing, which was similar to the Egyptian hieroglyphics They used this picture writing system to record stories and historical events. Aside from literature achievements, they also made great leaps in science. They built bridges and irrigation system, recorded astronomical and meteorological observation, created the lunar calendar, and developed one of the first economic system. The lunar calendar was adopted by surrounding countries and their economic system helped keep Mesopotamia affluent.
Mesopotamia’s first invention was a form of writing called cuneiform which was written on clay tablets with a sharp reed called a stylus. This permitted for recording events and
The river valley civilizations developed writing systems. Each writing system was unique, but they also had similarities between them. The people from Mesopotamia had a writing system called “cuneiform.” The Egyptians had a writing system called “hieroglyphics.” Cuneiform was a writing system based on pictures (3.) Just like cuneiform, hieroglyphics was also based on pictures (11.) Both writing systems presented objects or ideas. Also, they were both carved into stone.
Did you know that the ancient Mesopotamian created cuneiform? Cuneiform was the first form of writing. It was created over 5000 years ago! Mesopotamians created Cuneiform to make trading deals. You might think in your head, why don’t they just remember it? Well, that is because if they traded a year from now the people could lie and get more of their
The first form of writing was created by Sumerians 5,000 years ago called Cuneiform (Document 1). Sumerians used this writing system to keep track of business dealings because they traded with people who lived in lands that were hundreds and even thousands of miles away (Doc. 2). With a written language, ideas could be shared from generation to generation (Doc. 1). To write in cuneiform somebody would need to acquire a clay tablet, then bake it hard in a kiln (Doc. 1). If cuneiform had not been created, there may have not been written languages in the
The creation of cuneiform writing changed the methods of communication in Babylon. Cuneiform writing was an ancient writing system that Babylonian people utilized and learned. Although we have descriptions of what the writing
In Mesopotamia, people had no money so they traded barley, pottery, fish, and other foods and inventions they made. They needed a way to keep up with what they traded, so Sumerians created the first form of writing over 5000 years ago which they called Cuneiform. They used Cuneiform for business dealings such as trading barley, keeping records, and new ideas changed between different generations.
To start, the Sumerians invented cuneiform, which began the path to written language in the future. Cuneiform was the first written language. It was invented over 5000 years ago! (Doc. 1). They used a stylus to make imprints for writing. Written on the clay tablets it was used to keep records, document business
The importance of cuneiform to this society is that it was a written record of the sacred marriages between high priestesses and kings. Also, it recorded transactions of wheat and goats, created class distinctions because not everyone could read and write, widened the gap between classes, and created history because information did not have to be guessed. Moreover, cuneiform created employment.
Discovery of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform proved that the Mesopotamian civilization were able to communicate through written pictures and stylized signs, this was used for purpose of record keeping and schools to teach cuneiform.