Writing WHI.3e

Why Writing Came to Be As man developed civilization, there a grew a need to keep records Tax Records Laws Calendar Business Transactions Writing Is the Answer

Types of Writing There are two main types of writing systems, pictograms and alphabets Pictograms were the earliest form of writing, with picture like symbols that stand for what they resemble or look like Alphabets are groups of letters that stand for individual sounds within a language, arranged to make words

Pictograms One of the earliest forms of pictograms was created by scribes in the Mesopotamian region of Sumer to help them keep records This pictogram system was called cuneiform, which means “wedge shaped,” because the symbols have wedges

Cuneiform Scribes used a cut reed as a writing stylus, and wrote cuneiform into moist clay tablets, which were later dried in the sun Beyond government records, soon scribes began to record poems, literature and history

Cuneiform

Pictogram Another form of pictogram language was created by the Egyptians Hieroglyphics are the Egyptian form of writing, where each symbol stands for what it is supposed to look like

Hieroglyphics

Alphabet Along with being known for their sea trading in the Mediterranean and sale of purple dye, the Phoenicians were also known for the creation of the world’s first alphabet An alphabet is different from pictogram writing system because each symbol, or letter, stands for a sound, and letters are arranged to make words

Alphabet The Phoenician alphabet spread across the Mediterranean world where the Phoenicians did business This early Phoenician alphabet influenced the Greeks, who in turn, influenced the alphabet we use today

Phoenician Alphabet