12. cuneiform

Back to *History 8 Mesopotamia Vocabulary

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, cuneiform is “ a system of writing of the ancient Middle East composed of or written in wedge shaped characters”. This writing system was invented by the Sumerians, an ancient civilization of Mesopotamia. The origins of the name are from the Latin word cuneus, meaning “wedge”. This writing process was used by most of the large kingdoms of Mesopotamia, such as the Akkadians, Babylonians, Hittites, and Assyrians. A well-sculpted writing utensil called the stylus was used to inscribe this form of writing by engraving into soft blocks of clay, which would eventually dry and become tablets displaying the writing. At first, cuneiform consisted of drawing small pictures of concrete ideas, but later on, the form of writing increased in complexity as the pictures became symbols and therefore could better explain more abstract ideas. In addition, cuneiform was eventually altered from primarily possessing 1,000 characters to a more concise 60 characters. Roughly ninety five percent of cuneiform found by archeologists was used for economic texts, for instance bills, inventories, and measurements. Although, there were also great literary materials and stories written using cuneiform, for example, the Myth of Etana and the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Sources: http://www.ancient.eu/cuneiform/

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cuneiform

Ancient Origins Manual Pg. 96