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3300 BCE
Egyptians perfect Hieroglyphics
The Egyptian hieroglyphic script was one of the writing systems used by ancient Egyptians to represent their language. Because of their pictorial elegance, Herodotus and other important Greeks believed that Egyptian hieroglyphs were something sacred, so they referred to them as ‘holy writing’. In the ancient Egyptian language, hieroglyphs were called medu netjer, ‘the gods’ words’ as it was believed that writing was an invention of the gods. -
Period: 3000 BCE to
The Evolution of Media
Major Events in the History of Mass Communications This timeline shows the growing importance of mass communication in increasingly compressed historical time periods. It is not an all-inclusive timeline. It is intended to provide an historical perspective and the basis for further study of the rapid development of modern media. -
1500 BCE
Semites devise the alphabet
The original alphabet was developed by a Semitic people living in or near Egypt.* They based it on the idea developed by the Egyptians, but used their own specific symbols. It was quickly adopted by their neighbors and relatives to the east and north, the Canaanites, the Hebrews, and the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians spread their alphabet to other people of the Near East and Asia Minor, as well as to the Arabs, the Greeks, and the Etruscans, and as far west as present day Spain.
