Storiascopio · Era 3 of 12 · primary year 4
Cuneiform writing
about 3200 BC · Uruk, Mesopotamia (now Iraq)
In short
The first written tablets come from Uruk and were used for counting: sacks of grain, sheep, jars of beer. Scribes pressed a pointed reed into wet clay and left wedge-shaped marks, which is where the name ‘cuneiform’ comes from. At first they were little drawings, then they became simpler and simpler signs. This writing was used for about three thousand years and for many different languages.
Why it matters Writing made it possible to remember accounts, laws and stories without relying on memory alone.
Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Cuneiform”
Where we are in the era “River civilisations”
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about 4000 BCEvent 2 of 25about 1200 BC
Your turn
Name ______________________ Class ______ Date __________
When did it happen? Find the date at the top and write it here:
Tell it in your own words: what happened?
Draw the scene below.
storiascopio.com/en/event/cuneiform-writing/ · free worksheet, you may photocopy it for your class