HISTORY OF COMMUNICATION

Throughout the beginning of time, humans have interacted with one another in some way.

And although every phrase now begins with a letter, individuals then would have started with

a picture to convey their messages to one another.

In the BCE years, the proto-cuneiform signs, which are essentially primitive symbols that

carry information through their graphic likeness to a physical thing, are found on the Kish

tablet, which was found in the ancient Sumerian city of Kish. This tablet is said by some

experts to have the oldest known writing. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs are a form of writing

that is similar to this early one.

Furthermore, the phonetic system was one of the first non-glyph writing systems to not

employ pictorial characters. Symbols in phonetic systems represent spoken sounds. If this

sounds familiar, it's because many people utilize current alphabets, which are a phonetic

means of communication. The Phoenician system of written communication gradually spread

and was adopted by the Mediterranean city-states in diverse forms. The Phoenician system

arrived in Greece around the 8th century BC, where it was modified and suited to the Greek

spoken language. The addition of vowel sounds and reading the letters from left to right were

the two main changes.

And in the year 776 B.C., the Greeks used a messenger pigeon to bring the results of the first

Olympiad, marking the beginning of long-distance communication for the first time in

recorded history. In Egypt and China, messenger relay stations were established, and human

couriers on foot or horses were frequent. Around that time, long-distance communication had

its humble beginnings when the Greeks—for the first time in recorded history—had a

messenger pigeon carry results of the first Olympiad in the year 776 B.C. The founding of

Rome in 753 BCE also marked the beginning of written Latin language, which would play a

significant role in Western civilization.

Greek philosophers, such as Socrates and Plato, used oral communication and dialogue to

teach their ideas around 600 BCE. China also made significant contributions to the history of

communication, with Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang introducing a uniform system of

weights and measures, which included standardized writing, in 221 BCE. The invention of

paper in 105 CE by the Chinese revolutionized the way information was recorded and

communicated. These developments in communication, including the earliest forms of

writing, oral communication, and storytelling, set the foundation for the many innovations

and advancements in communication that would follow in the centuries to come.

Overall, the history of communication until the pre-mechanical era is marked by significant

innovations and developments, each contributing to the way we communicate today. From

the earliest cave paintings and vocalizations to the development of writing, storytelling, and

standardized writing systems, communication has remained a crucial aspect of human

society.
References:

Nguyen, T. (2021), History of Communication https://www.thoughtco.com/early-history-of-

communication-4067897

Woodward, Roger (14 May 2014). The textualization of the Greek alphabet. Cambridge

University Press. https://www.thoughtco.com/early-history-of-communication-4067897