cuneiform writing

cuneiform writing
System of writing employed in ancient times to write a number of languages of the Middle East.

The original and primary writing material for cuneiform texts was a damp clay tablet, into which the scribe would press a wedge-shaped stroke with a reed stylus. A configuration of such impressions constituted a character, or sign. Proto-cuneiform signs dating from с 3200–3000 BC were drawn rather than impressed and were largely pictographic (see pictography), though these features were lost as the script evolved. A single cuneiform sign could be a logogram (an arbitrary representation of a word) or a syllabogram (a representation of the sound of a syllable). The first language to be written in cuneiform was Sumerian (see Sumer). Akkadian began to be written in cuneiform с 2350 BC. Later the script was adapted to other South Asian languages. Cuneiform was slowly displaced in the first millennium BC by the rise of Aramaic, written in an alphabet script of Phoenician origin. Knowledge of the value of cuneiform signs was lost until the mid-19th century, when European scholars deciphered the script.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Writing — is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols (known as a writing system). It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and the recording of language via a non… …   Wikipedia

  • Cuneiform — redirects here. For other uses, see Cuneiform (disambiguation). Sumerian inscription in monumental archaic style, c. 26th century BC …   Wikipedia

  • cuneiform — ► ADJECTIVE 1) relating to the wedge shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit. 2) chiefly Biology wedge shaped. ► NOUN ▪ cuneiform writing. ORIGIN from Latin cuneus wedge …   English terms dictionary

  • Cuneiform script — Infobox Writing system name=Cuneiform type=Logographic typedesc=and syllabic languages=Akkadian, Eblaite, Elamite, Hattic, Hittite, Hurrian, Luwian, Sumerian, Urartian time=ca. 30th century BCE to 1st century CE fam1=(Proto writing) children=Old… …   Wikipedia

  • cuneiform — /kyooh nee euh fawrm , kyooh nee euh /, adj. 1. having the form of a wedge; wedge shaped. 2. composed of slim triangular or wedge shaped elements, as the characters used in writing by the ancient Akkadians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, and… …   Universalium

  • writing — /ruy ting/, n. 1. the act of a person or thing that writes. 2. written form: to commit one s thoughts to writing. 3. that which is written; characters or matter written with a pen or the like: His writing is illegible. 4. such characters or… …   Universalium

  • writing —    The exact origins of writing are lost, probably forever, in the mists of time. Modern scholars still disagree where and when the first substantial examples of writing appeared, some favoring ancient Egypt, others ancient Mesopotamia. Those in… …   Ancient Mesopotamia dictioary

  • cuneiform —    An early form of writing developed by the Sumerians perhaps between 3500 and 3000 B.C. The earliest examples were discovered in the ruins of the city of Uruk. Whether or not it originated there, after its introduction cuneiform writing rapidly …   Ancient Mesopotamia dictioary

  • CUNEIFORM —    A system of writing in which a cut reed stylus is pressed into soft clay to leave a wedgelike imprint (Latin cuneus). It was invented in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millennium B.C. Different versions of cuneiform writing were used to write… …   Historical Dictionary of Mesopotamia

  • cuneiform law — Body of laws revealed by documents written in cuneiform script (see cuneiform writing). It includes the laws of the Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Elamites, Hurrians, Kassites, and Hittites. Unlike modern legal codes, these ancient codes do… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”