Ancient Writing Systems
Cuneiform Script
Development of writing system is one of the greatest achievements of the ancient civilizations. The first writing system was developed by the Sumerians about 3500 to 3200 BC. The early written symbols were pictographs or images representing a physical object which evolved into cuneiform by 2900 BC. Cuneiform writing system is partially phonetic scrip consisting of logophonetic and syllabic systems. Cuneiform documents were written with a stylus on clay tablets which were then baked or dried. The Sumerian cuneiform was adopted by the Akkadians, Babylonians and Assyrians who adjusted it to their language, while cuneiform writing was also used outside Mesopotamia, notably by the Hittites and Elamites.
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Simultaneously with the cuneiform scrip was developed the Egyptian hieroglyph script about 3100 BC. The Egyptian hieroglyphs were a combination of logographic and alphabetic systems. Over time have developed two variations of hieroglyphs known as hieratic hieroglyphic script which was used by Ancient Egyptian priests for religious texts exclusively and demotic hieroglyphic scrip, a simplified version used by wider population. The Ancient Egyptians wrote on papyrus usually left to right though Egyptian hieroglyphs could have been also written right to left, bottom to top and top to bottom. The Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered by Jean-Francois Champollion after the discovery of the Rosetta Stone in the 19th century.
Phoenician Script
The Phoenicians developed the first non-pictographic consonant alphabet about 1000 BC. The Phoenician alphabet has been adopted by the Ancient Greeks who adjusted it and added symbols for vowels. The Phoenician alphabet is also believed to have influenced the Indian Brahmi script which in turn served as a basis for Devanagari.
Ancient Chinese Writing System
Ancient Chinese writing system is believed to have been influenced by Mesopotamian script. The earliest known Chinese characters date from the period of the Shang Dynasty though the inscriptions on the bone oracles imply that the Ancient Chinese writing system was created several centuries earlier. Ancient Chinese writing system continued to evolve after the Shang Dynasty, while the oldest forms of Chinese characters which survived until the present-day date from the 3rd century BC.
Indus Script
An unique writing system has been also developed by the Indus Valley Civilization. The Indus script is mostly pictorial though it also includes numerous abstract signs. It consists of about 500 signs but has not been deciphered yet.
