UNIT 4

​CULTURE

The Origin of Writing​

Some text here about the topic of discussion

Multiple Choice

(v)to include

• related to farming

• encompass

• trust

• deed

Multiple Choice

n. , the ability to read and wrtte

• scholar

• scholar

• civilazation

• literacy

Multiple Choice

v . • to cut and shape hard material

• carve

• structure

• specialized

• structure

Multiple Choice

something that is buUt, such as a building or bridge

• literacy

• structure

• property

• scholar

​Origins of Writing

​Ancient civilizations attributed the origins of writing to the gods. For the ancient Egyptians, their god Thoth was the creator of writing and, 1n some stortes, also the creator of speech. The ancient Sumertans and Assyrians also believed that writing ortginated with certain gods, as did the ancient Maya. In Chinese mythology, the creation of wrtting is attributed to an ancient sage and was used for communication with the gods. Clearly, wrtttng was highly valued even by ancient peoples.

Open Ended

Summarize the whole paragraph in just one sentence.

​Humans began painting pictures on cave walls 25,000 years ago or more, but wrtting systems did not develop until groups of people began settling in farming communities. Scholars say that wrtting systems developed independently in at least three different parts of the world: Mesopotamia, China, and Mesoarnertca.

​The oldest known writing system developed among the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 3000 B.c. Along with the rise of agricultural societies carve the development of property ownership and the need to keep records of it. In early agricultural societies, property consisted largely of land, livestock such as cattle, and grain. Originally, clay tokens of vartous shapes were used to count these possessions. From this developed a system of impressing the shapes onto clay tablets. One of the earliest clay tablets of this type was found in excavations in Mesopotamia and dates from the time of the Sumertan culture. Scrtbes then began using reeds instead of tokens to mark the clay, developing a system ofwedgelike shapes to represent the tokens. This system ofwrtting using wedge shapes is known as cuneiform. It was later adopted by other cultures and became the basts for other wrtting systems. Originating in a system that used pictures to represent objects, cuneiform writing eventually developed into systems that used symbols to represent the sounds of language.