Writing

The evolution of writing

By KAREZA
  • 10,000 BCE

    Prehistoric man

    In the caves prehistoric people carved their hunting adventures.
  • 5500 BCE

    The oldest known writing - Mesopotamia

    Carvings and marks on a limestone tablet
  • 3500 BCE

    Cuneiform scribe

    Sumerians developed a wedge-shaped system of writing.
  • 2200 BCE

    Egyptian scribe

    Egyptians developed a type of picture writing
  • 1500 BCE

    Linear A

    Linear A is a writing system used by the Minoans (Cretans). It is undeciphered.
  • 1100 BCE

    Linear B

    Linear B is a syllabic script developed during the Mycenaean civilisation. It is the earliest attested form of Greek. It has been deciphered.
  • 800 BCE

    Phoenician script

    Another important early syllabic script that influenced ancient Greeks a lot in creating their alphabet. The Bible - meaning book - has taken its name from the Phoenician city Byblos.
  • 600 BCE

    Ancient Greek

  • 200 BCE

    Hellinistic times

    The library of Alexandria where ancient texts in the form of papurus scrolls were collected, transcribed and preserved for some centuries.
  • 1450

    Printing by Johann Gutenberg

    He produced movable, metal letters that could be used again and again. He converted a wine press into the first printing press and found a durable metal to make the letters from.