Who Began Writing By Wilford Summary

In the Article, "Who Began Writing?" By John Noble Wilford, multiple theories, on what civilization was the first to develop a writing system, are discussed. Although five other civilizations are brought up in the text, the main argument is whether the Sumerians or the Egyptians developed a writing system first. Who actually began writing was never stated in the article, which leaves the reader to decide upon which civilization began writing by using evidence from the text.

Writing did not develop in only one place and then spread from there. Egyptian writing and Sumerian writing were dated around the same time and both of the writing systems were completely different from each other. In the text, it mentioned that the Sumerians used their

So, the Sumerians developed a writing system to keep records of certain things. Another example of Sumerian "records" would be the picture on page two that shows a piece of clay that has the ingredients of beer recorded on it. Later on in the text it mentions that Sumerian proto-cuneiform "...did not match the syntax of a language...seemed severely restricted, compared with spoken language, dealing mainly in lists and categories, not in sentences and narrative" (page 5). The Sumerian writing system was simple and used for keeping records. On the other hand, the Egyptian writing system matched their spoken language. The Egyptians used their writing system for more than just keeping records. They used it to tell stories and deliver messages. Referring back to the pictures on page two; the Sumerians just listed ingredients while the Egyptians have a symbol that reads as "Mountain of Light". The two writing systems are totally different from each other so there is no way that these civilizations influenced each other

It is believed that the Egyptians got the idea of writing from the Sumerians because "they had contacts in Syria" (page 3). Writing systems were either influenced by the Sumerians' proto-cuneiform or they were completely independent creations. No other writings seemed to have been influenced by Egyptians, but the Sumerians' writing system had influence on several other cultures. If other cultures got the idea of creating a writing system from the Sumerians' then it can be concluded that the Sumerians' had created their system first. In the text, it says that Egyptian writing possibly had a writing system as early as 3400 B.C, but Egyptologist, Dr. John Baines, said the date was "suspicious" (page 3). Most archeological evidence proved that the Sumerians were the first to begin writing and that the Egyptians being first, was just a possibility, and it was not proved by actual evidence. The theory behind the Egyptians being the first to write cannot be supported by actual evidence, it is only supported by a possibility. The Sumerian theory, however, is fully supported, so it is clear that the Sumerians were the first to develop a writing