Tracing the Development of Cuneiform

Assignments to hand in:    Tracing the Development of Cuneiform    The Impact of Cuneiform on Sumerian Culture Comprehension Questions

Introduction: Sumerian civilization was the first to develop an advanced form of writing. This did not happen overnight. Instead, it took years of evolving through four stages. In this activity you will learn about those stages.

Video Introduction: Mesopotamia - The Development of Written Language

Step 1 - Evolution of Cuneiform: Look at the picture below of an example of cuneiform. Notice the progression of sophistication - early to more recent (from top to bottom).

The Sumerians created what is believed to be the world's first written language, known as cuneiform. Cuneiform developed in roughly four stages: pictographs, ideographs, stylus writing, and phonograms. Over time, Sumerian scribes wrote cuneiform with a stylus, using its rectangular end to create triangle-shaped (or wedge-shaped) impressions. Nineteenth-century scholars later named the Sumerian script cuneiform, which means "wedge-shaped writing." By 1800 B.C.E., cuneiform contained more than 700 written symbols.

Step 2 - Practicing Cuneiform: Print out the following handout: Creating Written Symbols and complete each section by following the directions below:

Look at and read the following example of a pictograph (picture definition):

    Your Turn: On the Creating Written Symbols handout, create a pictograph of the word "DAY".

Look at and read the following example of an ideograph (picture representing an idea):

    Your Turn: On the Creating Written Symbols handout, create a pictograph of the word "ANGRY".

 Look at and read the following example of STYLUS WRITING (Picture words with made with only straight lines):

    Your Turn: On the Creating Written Symbols handout, create an example of Stylus Writing using your previous pictograph of the word "DAY".

 Look at and read the following example of a PHONOGRAM (Symbols that stand for a sound in a syllable):

    Your Turn: On the Creating Written Symbols handout, create an example of a Phonogram using the word "BEAUTY"

Step 3 - Writing All Four Stages of Cuneiform: Print out the handouts: Tracing the Development of Cuneiform. To the best of your ability, create your own versions of each one of these words and ideas.

Step 4 - Summary Article and Pictures: Read the article, The Impact of Cuneiform on Sumerian Culture , look at the pictures (and descriptive text) and answer the following questions:

    1. What were the limitations of pictographs that lead to the evolution of their writing?

    2. Describe the process scribes used to write cuneiform.

    3. Who were the scribes in Sumerian society and what did the job entail?

    4. What is so significant about the invention of writing to a society or humankind?

Only wealthy, young Sumerian men - and a very few women - were trained to be scribes, and they learned to write in special schools called edubbas. Their training lasted for many years, and conditions in the edubbas were very harsh. Students sat on rows of hard brick benches, had to memorize many words and spellings, and were punished with beatings if they spoke without permission in class or wrote poorly. In additions to learning how to write, students also studied grammar, story writing, and geography in Sumerian schools.

 Before developing cuneiform, Sumerians communicated stories orally. They chanted or recited stories to musical instruments such as the harp. The first story written down by the Sumerians is a 3,500-line poem called "The Epic of Gilgamesh." This poem tells the story of a brave king of Mesopotamia, part God and part man, who goes in search of immortality after the death of cuneiform have helped scholars gain a richer understanding of Sumerian culture.

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