1. THE EMERGENCE OF WRITING

2. The emergence of writing marks the beginning of History.
Writing first appeared in Mesopotamia around 3500 B.C.
It was used for keeping accounts or recording commercial
transactions.

3. In Mesopotamia, they wrote on clay tablets with a reed
stick that let wedge-shaped marks. This type of writing
is called cuneiform, from the Latin word cuneus meaning
“wedge”. They baked the tablets in an oven to harden
them.

4. The Egyptians used a system called hieroglyphics (using
pictures to express ideas, ideograms). They wrote on
stone, wooden tablets and papyrus. For common
documents they used a simple system called demotic.

6. Hieroglyphics were deciphered by Jean-François
Champollion in the 19th century thanks to the discovery of
the Rosetta Stone, where the same text appeared in
hieroglyphics, demotic and Greek.

8. Later, the Phoenicians developed the alphabet, which
differed from the pictographic writing because it was
based on sounds and included 22 letters. It was spread by
Phoenician traders and became the basis for modern
script.