Written History

By mgerber
  • 40,000 BCE

    Spanish Pictographs

    Spanish Pictographs
    Pictographs in Spain show the first form of storytelling. Red ochre pictures line cave walls to show a series of events (Frithowulf).
  • 7000 BCE

    Indus River Valley Symbols

    Indus River Valley Symbols
    In Pakistan and India, objects were found that had symbols on them. Scholars have not been able to make out a whole language, but there are at least 400 symbols that are similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs (Clayton).
  • 3400 BCE

    Cuneiform in Sumer - The Birthplace of Writing

    Cuneiform in Sumer - The Birthplace of Writing
    Cuneiform, the Sumerian writing system, was used to write various languages throughout the Eastern world. Cuneiform consisted of triangular symbols that writers pressed into clay (Glassner).
  • 3200 BCE

    Moving to Ink in Egypt

    Moving to Ink in Egypt
    Egyptian hieroglyphs were used on ivory tablets. They started by carving the characters. Eventually, reed pens and ink became the first instance of writing rather than carving. The writing was known as hieratic (Clayton).
  • 1300 BCE

    Full Language in China

    Full Language in China
    Near the Yellow River in China, bones with carvings have been found. Over 4,500 different symbols have been identified. They have been connected to current Chinese characters (Clayton).
  • 900 BCE

    Open and Closed Writing Systems in Mesoamerica

    Open and Closed Writing Systems in Mesoamerica
    Pre-colonial Mesoamerica had two different writing systems. There were open systems, like mnemonic devices, where there wasn't much grammar or sound structure. These were usually used by the Aztecs in Central Mexico. Closed systems were focused on sound structure, much like we use today. The Maya used languages like these (Clayton).
  • 700 BCE

    The Beginning of Latin Writing

    The Beginning of Latin Writing
    The first instance of Latin writing read from right to left, as many languages used to. The characters were based on the Greek alphabet and Egyptian hieroglyphics (Frithowulf).
  • 200 BCE

    Parchment Invented

    Parchment Invented
    Though there were different types of parchment -- like those made of leather -- invented earlier, it was first written on now. It got its name from Pergamum, an ancient city in Asia Minor (Frithowulf).
  • 1450

    Printing Press Invented

    Printing Press Invented
    When the printing press was invented, it changed the course of writing forever. Lines of letters were aligned, creating a better organization of writing (Schmandt-Besserat).

  • Rapa Nui Rongorongo

    Rapa Nui Rongorongo
    Rapa Nui, Polynesia was discovered to hold 24 wooden tablets that had unique glyphs. These tablets, called rongorongo, had characters relating to humans, animals, and plants. There is no doubt that they had a complete writing system. The time of creation is unknown, but they were found in the 19th century (Clayton).

  • Invention of the Pen

    Invention of the Pen
    When the modern pen was invented, people were able to write on parchment significantly faster, and without stopping to redip in ink (Frithowulf).

  • Typewriter Invented

    Typewriter Invented
    The typewriter was the first instance of the Qwerty keyboard. It significantly sped up the process of writing (Frithowulf).

  • The First Email

    The First Email
    When Ray Tomlinson sent the first email, it signaled a new future of communication. Machines could now communicate back-and-forth everywhere (Frithowulf).

  • Texting

    Texting
    When short message service (SMS) was developed, no one knew it would be the future of communication. Dozens of billions of text messages are sent every day, showing just how massive this development has been (Frithowulf).

  • The Future of Writing

    It is clear that writing has come so far from the first pictographs. Writing used to be solely storytelling, and now it has blossomed into communication. Modern-day language is based on Latin, which is based on Greek, which is based on Egyptian hieroglyphs, which date back to the first ever pictograph. We also see ourselves reverting back to pictographs when we use emojis. This means that without a doubt, future writing will be built upon what is now the qwerty keyboard, email, and texting.

  • Source

    Glassner, Jean-Jacques, et al. “Introduction.” The Invention of Cuneiform: Writing in Sumer, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, 2007, pp. 1–2.

  • Source

    Clayton, Ewan. “Where Did Writing Begin?” British Library, bl.uk. Accessed 27 June 2023.

  • Source

    Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. “The Evolution of Writing.” Denise Schmandt-Besserat, 6 Feb. 2021, sites.utexas.edu/dsb/tokens/the-evolution-of-writing/.

  • Source

    Frithowulf, Hrothsige. “Timeline of the History of Writing: From 40.000 BC to Today.” Malevus, 19 June 2023, malevus.com/writing-history-timeline/.