Compare And Contrast Cuneiform And Hieroglyphics

82).” According to Walter Ong, the act of communication through writing heightens ones consciousness and begins to change the way in which the writer thinks. This in turn facilitates the development of increasingly sophisticated technological advancements. Early pictographs were typically monotone and very simplistic in nature. However, as the technology evolved, humankind developed multi-hued writing media that improved the visual accuracy of the images created and subsequently improved the complexity of the message delivered. Essentially more visual detail equals a more complex symbology and abstraction. Some major milestones in the evolution of communication technology include the simplification of earlier literal depictions in the late Paleolithic era, the development of the first “alphabets” as quasi-abstract symbols representing the basic sounds of spoken language. These early alphabets were extremely complex and cumbersome until the Phoenicians developed a “totally abstract and alphabetical system of twenty-two simple phonetic signs, replacing the formidable complexity of cuneiform and hieroglyphs (Higgins, 2003).” The inhabitants of Greece and Rome adopted this system of writing which was in effect by 1500 B.C. and later developed what we know as the

Back in history it was important for the chosen scribes to do well in school and there is evidence that fathers would bribe teachers to obtain good marks for their sons (Manguel 181). The students would learn the making of clay tablets and using the stylus, drawing and recognizing signs. The students would be given a round clay tablet which the teacher would inscribe a short sentence, proverb, or list of names on it, the student would study it and turn the clay tablet over and reproduce the writing. Becoming a reader and writer for the first time. Soon Mesopotamian script changed from pictograph to cuneiform. Signs took on sounds, becoming easier to comprehend the text, which brought forth complex literature. The ancient Mesopotamians believed birds to be sacred because their footsteps on wet clay left marks that resembled cuneiform writing, and if they could decipher the signs, they would know what the ...

When discussing the topic of the development of early writing systems, one cannot do so without first thinking of the Mayans. The Mayans were the only ones to form the only writing system that was native to the Americas, and were also considered to be the masters of the art of mathematics. The Mayan writing system was often referred to as hieroglyphics, due to their resemblance to the method of Egyptian writing, although there is no relation. These symbols, called glyphs, were a combination of symbols used for the phonetic spelling of words today, and other characters. It is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World that can completely represent spoken language to the same degree as the written language of the old world. Translating the Maya writings has been a long, and very tedious process. Some parts of it were first translated in the late 19th and early 20th century (mostly the parts having to do with numbers, the calendar, and astronomy), but major developments started in the 1960s and 1970s and kept coming thereafter, and now, the majority of Mayan texts can be read almost completely in their original languages. During the translation of the Ma...

There were more than 700 different hieroglyphics! Egyptian writing was done with ink and pen on paper made from papyrus. The pens they used were very sharp, thin, reeds. The Egyptians got the ink from plants by crushing them and mixing them with water. Writing was used in scribe school, fields, tombs, the army, government, and in temples. Writing was used everywhere! Writing was important when decorating the tombs. The writing on the walls of the tombs, helped the Pharaoh get to the afterlife. By keeping records, the government could keep track of how the country was doing. For example, “They could see how much grain or animals were collected in taxes.” This was very important because it kept the civilization organized and advanced.

First of all, the Sumerians invented Cuneiform which paved the way for the languages of today. (doc 1) Cuneiform was the very first written language and started simple.(oi) Cuneiform progressed over the years, at first it looked like pictures but it slowly progressed to be more like symbols.(doc

During the ancient Egyptians more than 3,00 yearlong history, they used three kinds of writings to write religious and secular texts. The basis of the two other writings is hieroglyphic. This writing was mainly used for sacred (Greek hieros) inscriptions on temple walls or public monuments (Greek glypho). Thus the word hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics use clearly distinguishable pictures to express both sounds and ideas. The pictures could either be inscribed or drawn and often would be painted in many colors. The quality of the writing would vary from highly detailed signs to just mere outlines of them. A special form of hieroglyphics was used for the Book of the Dead, it was written in cursive...

...ll. The Sumerians are the first known civilization to have a written language. The language known as cuneiform was written using cut reeds from the river imprints were made in fresh clay. The Sumerians recorded everything from transaction receipts to the Epic of Creation.

A civilization is recognized as such by its form of written language. For this reason, the earliest civilization is recognized in the region of Mesopotamia with their language of Cuneiform. This ancient form of written language was inscribed on clay tablets that still remain in tact and are being salvaged hundreds of thousands of years later. Even more impressive than just writing the language, however, is the ancient Babylonians’ early mathematical discoveries. These were also recorded with cuneiform and recorded on clay tablets, and like the language, served as an early interpretation of mathematical principles that influence arithmetic all over the world today.

references 3400 BCE and the 1890s. In 3400 BCE, the Summerians used a type of writing called cuneiform. This style of writing was heavily based on pictures, ...

The earliest writing in Mesopotamia was a picture writing invented by the Sumerians who wrote on clay tablets using long reeds. The script the Sumerians invented and handed down to the Semitic peoples who conquered Mesopotamia in later centuries, is called cuneiform, which is derived from two Latin words: cuneus , which means "wedge," and forma , which means "shape." This picture language, similar to but more abstract than Egyptian hieroglyphics, eventually developed into a syllabic alphabet under the Semites (Assyrians and Babylonians) who eventually came to dominate the area.

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is one the oldest and most interesting forms of written language developed. There is evidence of its use from before 3200 BCE and Egyptian hieroglyphs remained in use for over 3,500 years. The Egyptian name for hieroglyphs translates to “language of the gods,” although the term hieroglyph actually came from Greek words meaning “sacred carving,” which the Greeks used to define the writing found on Egyptian monuments and temples (Ancient Egypt, Hieroglyphics, n.d.).

Thousands of years ago in Egypt, this paper would only be understood by a few people professionally trained to read and write hieroglyphs. Only wealthy children in ancient Egypt were taught to read and write, and the language was kept complicated so that they were the only ones that could understand. Hieroglyphics are a very intricate system of writing that was very complex, was only mastered by scribes, and there are many interesting hieroglyphic discoveries in history.

Classical authors generally credit Egyptian hieroglyphics as being the invention of writing. It was thought that Egyptian writing was “not built up from syllables to express the underlying meaning, but from the appearance of the things drawn and by their metaphorical meaning, learned by heart” (Robinson 52). Although Egyptian writing has been around for thousands and thousands of years, Sumerian writing is thought to be in fact even older than Egyptian writing. However, although Sumerian writing may be older, it did not develop as quickly as Egyptian hieroglyphics (Blackwell 57).