The most ancient monument of Sumerian writing is a tablet from Kish, which was dated to about 3500 BC. The Sumerians made tablets from clay, until the material finally hardened, strokes were applied to them with a wooden stick. Subsequently, this method of writing was called cuneiform.
Instructions
Step 1
During the excavations of the city of Uruk, clay tablets were found from about 3300 BC. This allowed scientists to conclude that writing contributed to the rapid development of cities and the complete restructuring of society. In the east was the kingdom of Elam, and between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers - the Sumerian kingdom. These two states were engaged in trade, and therefore there was an urgent need for writing. In Elam, pictograms were used, which the Sumerians adapted.
Step 2
In Elam and Sumer, tokens were used - clay chips of various shapes, which denoted single objects (one goat or one ram). Somewhat later, symbols began to be applied to tokens: serifs, imprints, triangles, circles and other shapes. Tokens were put in containers with a seal. To find out about the contents, it was necessary to break up the container, count the number of chips and determine their shape. Subsequently, on the container itself, they began to designate which tokens were in it. Soon, these chips lost their meaning. The Sumerians were content with only their imprint on the container, which turned from a ball into a flat plate. With the help of corners and circles on such plates, the type and number of objects or objects were indicated. By definition, all signs were pictograms.
Step 3
Over time, the pictogram combinations have become stable. Their meaning consisted of a set of images. If a bird with an egg was painted on the plate, then it was about fertility and procreation as an abstract concept. Pictograms became ideograms (symbolic representations of an idea).
Step 4
After 2-3 centuries, the style of Sumerian writing has changed dramatically. To make it easier to read, the symbols were arranged in wedges - small segments. In addition, all the symbols used began to be depicted inverted 90 degrees counterclockwise.
Step 5
The outline of many words and concepts has been standardized over time. Now the tablets can be applied not only to letters of administrative appointment, but also literary treatises. In II BC, Sumerian cuneiform was already used in the Middle East.
Step 6
The first attempt to decipher the Sumerian writing was made by Grotefend in the middle of the 19th century. Rawlinson later continued his work. The subject of his study was the Behistun manuscript. The scientist found that the tablets that fell into his hands are written in three languages and represent the Elamite and Akkadian scripts - direct descendants of the Sumerian writing. By the end of the 19th century, later forms of cuneiform were finally deciphered thanks to dictionaries and archives found in Nineveh and Babylon. Today scientists are trying to understand the principle of proto-Sumerian writing - the prototypes of the Sumerian cuneiform writing.
