History of Written Word

  • Cuneiform
    3200 BCE

    Cuneiform

    In Ancient Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), The Cuneiform was developed. This system used wedge shaped marks pressed into clay tablets and is the earliest form of written word.
  • Hieroglyphs
    3000 BCE

    Hieroglyphs

    In Egypt, they utilized hieroglyphs with more than 1000 characters, which were typically used for record keeping, religious texts, and monumental inscriptions.
  • Period: 3000 BCE to 1 BCE

    BCE

  • The Indus Valley Writing System
    2500 BCE

    The Indus Valley Writing System

    The Indus valley developed their own writing system however to this day it remains undeciphered
  • The Phoenician Alphabet
    1100 BCE

    The Phoenician Alphabet

    Many modern day alphabets emerged from the Phoenician alphabet, which served as a foundation
  • The Greek Alphabet
    800 BCE

    The Greek Alphabet

    The Greek alphabet, including individual letters and vowels, was developed.
  • The Latin Alphabet
    105 BCE

    The Latin Alphabet

    The Latin alphabet, which came from the Greek alphabet, was used throughout the Roman Empire
  • Paper Invented
    100 BCE

    Paper Invented

    Paper was invented in China, which was a major turning point for writing materials
  • Period: 1400 to

    14th Century - Modern Era

  • Printing Press Invented
    1440

    Printing Press Invented

    Johannes Gutenberg develops the printing press, which began production of books and newspapers
  • Period: to

    Modern Era - Present Day

  • Typewriter Invented

    Typewriter Invented

    The typewriter was invented, which moved along the writing process
  • First Digital Computers

    First Digital Computers

    Early computers didn't have amazing texting abilities but set a bar with basic ability to produce text
  • First Email Sent

    First Email Sent

    The first email was sent, which was the beginning of digital communication
  • Microsoft Word Released

    Microsoft Word Released

    Microsoft Word eventually became one of the biggest global word processors
  • Facebook release

    Facebook release

    The release of Facebook stemmed the creation of many other user interactive social media platforms for communication.
  • Snapchat Releases

    Snapchat Releases

    Snapchat released and very quickly became one of the most popular social communication apps, and still holds up to that to this day.
  • Period: to

    What Does the Future Hold?

    In my opinion, I believe in the next 20-30 years, handwritten items will begin to disappear and everything will become digital or run by AI programs.
  • Period: to

    Sources

    Besserat, D. (n.d.). Denise Schmandt-Besserat. Denise SchmandtBesserat. https://sites.utexas.edu/dsb/tokens/the-evolution-of-writing/#:~:text=Writing%20%E2%80%93%20a%20system%20of%20graphic,3200%20BC%2C%20was%20first.
    Mancini, A. (n.d.). Writing: History timeline. History Timelines. https://historytimelines.co/timeline/writing