Cuneiform Research Paper

Cuneiform Writing in the Ancient Near East

1. Writing was invented about 3100 BCE (B.C.). At this time, settlements were being established and writing became a necessity due to economics; sales of grain, animals, claims to land, etc. needed to be recorded. Reliable records had to be kept for all sorts of transactions -- animals kept in warehouses, land sales, and money paid for slaves, bills of sale, etc. Before writing was invented, clay tokens, sticks and other kinds of objects were used to keep records of household and commercial bookkeeping. These kinds of tokens were used as far back as 10,000 BCE.

2. The earliest writing was in the form of pictograms, where pictures represented objects and numerals, represented by about 1,200 symbols. Cuneiform developed from these early pictograms (see chart). The earliest writing did not fully represent all of the intricacies of language and there were few grammatical aspects. The symbols changed considerably over time. The earliest Sumerian pictograms were written from top to bottom, but as the symbols became more abstract, they were written from left to right. Eventually, as Cuneiform was used to write in Akkadian, the symbols were used to represent sounds and syllables.

(Diagram Source: Nemet-Nejat, Karen Rhea, Daily Life in Ancient Mesopotamia.

Many of our surviving cuneiform scripts are in the form of inscriptions – writing carved into walls, stones or “stele” (pillars that rulers erected to publicize their power and accomplishments.) These steles contained pictures as well as cuneiform text. The most famous stele is the one which contains Hammurabi’s code. This stele is 7.4 ft. tall. In the detail at the top of the stele, Hammurabi (standing) is receiving symbols of authority from Shamash, the god of justice in Akkadia and Babylonia (or possibly from the god Marduk). The laws are written 360°around the pillar below the picture. A detail of the actual cuneiform script of Hammurabi’s code is shown