Question
Here is the question : WHAT LANGUAGE FORMED THE WORLD’S FIRST SYSTEM OF WRITING?
Option
Here is the option for the question :
- Ancient Egyptian
- Sumerian
- Babylonian
- Amorite
The Answer:
And, the answer for the the question is :
Explanation:
The earliest writing system that we are aware of was the Sumerian cuneiform. The cuneiform script — which uses symbols to depict words or syllables — emerged in Sumer, Mesopotamia (modern Iraq), about 5,500 years ago. The Sumerian language began to die out after Sumer was conquered by the Akkadians in 2340 BCE, but cuneiform as a system of writing continued for three more centuries.
Sumerian is considered the world’s first known writing system. Developed in ancient Mesopotamia between 3400 to 3200 BCE, the Sumerian writing system emerged from earlier proto-writing forms like pictograms. It was the first writing to represent the spoken language, recording Sumerian speech in a logical and systematic manner.
The Sumerian writing system featured wedge-shaped symbols impressed into clay tablets using a stylus. It consisted of logographic, syllabic and phonetic elements that could represent words, syllables or individual sounds. Logographic symbols depicted the meaning of a word, while phonetic symbols represented a sound. Sumerian scribes used the system to record everything from business transactions, to poetry, mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.
The Sumerian writing system was crucial to the development of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. It allowed for the extensive recording of knowledge, administration of large states, complex economic transactions, and preservation of history, literature, and religion. Cuneiform tablets provide invaluable insight into Sumerian culture, society, religion, economics, politics, trade, agriculture, and mathematics. They represent some of the earliest known writings of astronomy, mathematics, laws, medical treatises, and more.
The rise of writing transformed Mesopotamia by enabling more complex forms of governance, record-keeping, trade, and knowledge transmission. It made progress in realms like mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy possible. Writing also changed conceptions of knowledge and its preservation. No longer was information confined to memory, but could be recorded and disseminated across space and time.
Though the Sumerian writing system lasted only from around 3400 to 500 BCE, it had an immense and lasting influence. It provided the first model of a writing system, inspired later scripts like Akkadian, Hittite and Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, and shaped the development of writing worldwide. Sumerian writing represented a pivotal moment in human history, enabling new levels of knowledge, organization, culture, and progress.
The Sumerian writing system is monumental as the first, earliest and most influential writing system ever developed. It changed civilization by transforming how knowledge was recorded, preserved and shared across generations. Though its symbols have long since faded into history, the profound legacy of Sumerian writing and its impact on human progress endure.