With the invention of writing, ideas began to be exchanged between people, the experience of the past shaped the present and today’s civilization emerged. So, who discovered writing, the cornerstone of civilization? The historical journey of the article in different societies has a fascinating and surprising story.
Who can deny that writing is the cornerstone of our civilization? The information that disappeared in the oral period transferred both knowledge and experience to the past and future generations thanks to writing. At the end of this process that developed over the centuries, today’s civilization was built. The question of who found the article is an easy one. however, it has an answer that is encountered with the signatures of different societies as you go deeper.
In this respect The first information we learn is the Sumerians. However, when we look at the historical development of writing, we see that different societies found writing in different continents, unaware of each other. Moreover, each of them has both fascinating similarities and distinctive features. For the answer to the question of who found the article Let’s take a closer look at history and witness the foundations of today’s civilization laid thousands of years ago.
Societies unaware of each other have actually found the article many times:
We find the first answer to the question of who invented writing in Mesopotamia in 3400 BC. However, this answer does not fully answer the question. because When we look at the historical process of writing We see that different societies living on different continents and at different times found writing and used it in different ways.
The first findings of cuneiform writing as we know it were found in today’s Iraq. It appears in the Mesopotamian region. The history of the finds points to the Sumerian society that lived between 3400 and 3300 BC. Another finding shows that writing was used in Egypt around 3200 BC.
Likewise, in 1300 B.C. in China, during the last years of the Shang dynasty an established writing system known. Another finding about the writing is in the Mesoamerica region, where different Latin American countries are located today, which marks the period between 900 and 600 BC. Writing is thought to have been found in the Indus River Valley (India) and Rapa Nui (Easter Island), but it is not entirely clear whether it was as well-established as in other societies.
In pursuit of the first writing samples in history…
We mentioned that writing was invented by different societies in 4 different regions in the historical process. However the first writing that we can name as the ancestor of all, It was used by the Sumerians in the Mesopotamian region about 5500 years ago. For the first time in Southern Mesopotamia, characters that symbolize different meanings from painting, which we call the Sumerian language today, were used.
After 2900 BC, cuneiform writing as we know it began to be used. cuneiform, It was written on a wet clay tablet using a pointed reed. In a period of 600 years, cuneiform had an established system. The Akkadians, a people who once lived with the Sumerians, also used a similar cuneiform script. The last surviving document on cuneiform marks 75 years after Christ. This shows that cuneiform was used by the peoples of Mesopotamia for thousands of years.
Hieroglyph for ceremonies, ink for administrative work:
Another society that found writing in the early period is the Egyptians. The earliest evidence of writing in Egypt marks 3250 BC. Egyptians from 3200 BC tagging items, writing tombs It is known that he used writing for certain purposes such as Moreover, the writings were not only engraved on the stones here.
With the help of brushes made of reed write using ink It was the first time in Egypt. This ink lettering hieratic, carved and painted writings we see on monuments hieroglyph is named. While the hieratic ink writings were used by the royal and temple administrators to write the texts that we can call diary; Hieroglyphic engraving and painting writings were used for ceremonial purposes.
Prophecies written on so-called dragon bones:
The earliest findings of writing in the Chinese region were found in the Anyang region, which was also the capital of the Shang dynasty. The writing samples found here are not on stone, cloth or wood; was on animal bones. These bones, which date back to 1300 BC, were used for ceremonial purposes. So much so that the farmers who found these bones claimed that they were dragon bones and sold them at high prices.
The bones used for ceremonial purposes are mostly the shoulder blades of animals such as ox and turtle. It is thought that such bones were used because the writing area was larger. These bones, on which more than 4500 symbols are engraved, are written about subjects such as war, birth, illness, and thus contacting the spirit of past ancestors It was thought that the questions would be answered. Unfortunately, many of the symbols written on the bones are not in readable condition today.
The Mayans had special books for the royal family:
If you are aware, we are using the word book for the first time because the writing findings in the Mesoamerica region that mark 900 years BC. they were like books as we know them. These books are thought to have been written specifically for the royal family. Except for less than 20 books, 4 of which belong to the Maya; It is thought to have been used by astronomers, librarians, marriage organizers, tribute recorders, historians, genealogists, and ceremonial makers.
We can divide the writing system used in the Mesoamerica region into two as open and closed. In the open system, by using some guiding pictures and symbols besides the writings, it was aimed for everyone to read and was used by the Aztecs. The closed system, on the other hand, is a writing system that will not be read by everyone, similar to today’s writing system, but appealing to a special segment, and was used by the Mayans. Because it was destroyed by the Spanish colonialists There are very few Mesoamerican writing findings that have survived to the present day.
The historical process of writing in other societies is also very interesting:
We talked about the earliest findings of writing in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China and Mesoamerica. However, the historical process of writing is not limited to these regions. Current Also in India and Easter Island It is known that early writing was used. Many finds were found in both regions, but a clear date has not been determined for the time being.
More than 5 thousand inscriptions were found in the Indian region and 400 unique symbols were found on them. This system, which is thought to be not word or letter-based, It is similar to the Sumerian and Egyptian writings. It has been seen that there are 120 basic symbols on nearly 30 wooden tablets found on Easter Island. It has been seen that these symbols are human, animal and plant symbols and it is a system suitable for writing texts in thousands of characters.
Who found the text We shared with you the answer to the question, who lost the human being in the pages of history. Like all inventions and discoveries writing was not invented by a single society, it has survived to this day by bearing the signatures of different societies and has become one of the strongest stones in the foundation of today’s civilization.