Mesopotamian Writing

By kflorentine26
  • 3500 BCE

    Cuniform emerged in Sumer

    made by making specific marks in clay with a reed implement to keep track of long-distance trade
  • 3200 BCE

    Phonograms

    Uruk develops phonograms (symbols representing sounds) in order to express concepts more complex than financial transactions and lists of items
  • 3200 BCE

    Rebus Principle

    3200-3000 BCE
    Rebus principle was a new way of interpreting signs. Only a few examples of its use exist in the earliest stages of Cuneiform
  • 3150 BCE

    Hieroglyphs

    Egypt uses hieroglyphs said to have been developed from Cuneiform writing
  • 3000 BCE

    Akkadian Cuneiform

    3000 BCE
    Before the developments of Cuneiform were completed the Akkadians adopted the system and adapted it to their wholly different language. They retained the Sumerian logograms and phonetic values, but pronounced them in Akkadian words and extended the values far beyond the original Sumerian inventory. This led to some confusion that didn't change till much later.
    The earliest example of Old Akkadian Cuneiform is the inscriptions of the ruler Sargon of Akkad.
  • 3000 BCE

    Expansion of Cuneiform Writing

    3000 BCE
    The expansion of cuneiform writing outside of Mesopotamia began when Elam in Southwestern Iran was in contact with Mesopotamian culture and adopted the system of writing.
  • 2334 BCE

    Naru Literature

    2334-2279 BCE
    The development of Naru literature. Naru literature did not relate what actually happened but what could happen if one did not recognize one's proper place in the universe and behave accordingly. The main focus was to preserve the past by relating vital cultural values by creating entertaining and memorable tales. They were to provide entertaining stories that people could learn from, remember, and make use of in their daily lives.
  • 2285 BCE

    Known by Name

    2285-2250 BCE
    The first writer in history known by name was Mesopotamian priestess Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon of Akkad ( she wrote hymns to the Goddess Inanna)
  • 2150 BCE

    The Epic of Gilgamesh

    The Epic Gilgamesh (!st Epic Tale) was important because now stories were recorded instead of relying on community storytelling to remember and recite past events
  • 2000 BCE

    School for scribes

    2000 BCE
    Sumer boasted a formal school to teach Cuneiform. Most students were men, but there is evidence of women scribes as well.
  • 1950 BCE

    Assyrian Cuneiform

    1950 BCE
    Old Assyrian Cuneiform was mostly records of Assyrain trading colonies in Central Asia Minor called the Cappadocian Tablets.
  • 1792 BCE

    Hammurabi's Code

    1792-1750 BCE
    Code of Hammurabi (most complete and perfect extant collection of Babylonian laws) written in Old Babylonian Cuneiform
  • 685 BCE

    Preserving History

    685-627 BCE
    Over 30,000 clay tablet books were collected and stored at Ninevah (Capital under Assyrian King Ashurbanipal) in hopes to preserve heritage, culture, and history of the region showing that writing was important
  • 100 BCE

    Cuneiform abandoned

    100 BCE
    Cuneiform was abandoned for alphabetic script

  • George Smith's translations

    1872 CE
    The translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh made room for scholarly objective exploration of history to move forward. It overturned the traditional understanding of the biblical version of history. Many biblical texts were thought to be original until Cuneiform was deciphered.

  • Unearthed Remains

    1929
    Unearthed remains of Ugarit had an unknown simple system of cuneiform. This cuneiform had a low number of 30 different signs that pointed to an alphabetic type of script. It also had vertical lines as line dividers.