CUNEIFORM

GROUP 2
Gail Aimyh Velos
Jaxel Lumayno
Cristy Ann Jumao-as
Amelyn Malabago
Sweet Charity Robledo
Ronnaliza Enmacino
Malee Dave Eslit
Romnee James Banaay
 1 HISTORY

2 DESCRIPTION

Contents 3 SYMBOLS/FUNCTIONS

4 PICTURES & WRITINGS

5 CONTRIBUTIONS
 HISTORY
1
 The origins of cuneiform may be traced back approximately to the end of the
4th millenium BCE. At that time the Sumerians, a people of unknown ethnic and
linguistic affinities, inhabited southern Mesopotamia and the region west of the
mouth of the Euphrates known as Chaldea. While it does not follow that they
were the earliest inhabitants of the region or the true originators of their system of
writing, it is to them that the first attested traces of cuneiforms writing are
conclusively assigned. The earliest written records in the Sumerian language are
pictographic tablets from Uruk (Erech), evidently lists or ledgers of commodities
identified by drawings of the objects and accompanied by numerals and personal
names. Such word writing was able to express only the basic ideas of objects.
Numerical nations were easily rendered by the repetitional use of strokes or
circles. In the course of the 3rd millennium the writing became successively more
cursive, and the pictographs developed into conventionalized linear drawings.
 DESCRIPTION
2
 Cuneiform, system of writing used in ancient Middle East. The name, a
coinage from Latin and Middle French roots meaning “wedge-shaped”, has
been the modern designation from the early 18th century onward.
Cuneiform was the most widespread and historically significant writing
system in the ancient Middle East. Its active history comprised the last
three millennia BCE, its long development and geographic expansion
involved numerous successive cultures and languages, and its overall
significance as an international graphic medium of civilization is second
only to that of the Phoenician-Greek-Latin alphabet. It is first developed by
the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia c. 3500-3000 BCE. It is considered
the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the
Sumerians and the greatest among those of the Sumerian city of Uruk
which advanced the writing of cuneiform c. 3200 BCE.
 SYMBOLS & FUNCTIONS
3
 Cuneiform was based on pictographs. As the pictographs changed into
symbols made from straight lines, they lost their original resemblance to
the objects they represented. Numbers were represented by repeated
strokes or circles. In every character represented one word, but many
words lacked their own symbols. For these, symbol of related objects were
used (a foot could mean both “to go” and “to stand”, in addition to “foot”).
It has 600 to 1000 characters to write words.
Cuneiform symbols was originally created to represent syllables in the
ancient Sumerian language.
 PICTURES & WRITINGS
4
CUNEIFORM LITERATURE
Literature
- Altrahasis, The Decent of Inanna, The myth of Etana, The Enuma Elish,
and the famous Epic of Gilgamesh

Prior to this time, as noted, the Bible was considered the oldest book in the
world, the Song of Solomon was thought to be the oldest love poem; but all of
that changed with the discovery and decipherment of cuneiform.
The oldest love poem in the world is now recognized as The Love Song of
Shu-Sin dated to 2000 BCE, long before the Song of Solomon was written.
Until 19th Century CE, when George Smith and Henry Rawlinson (1810-
1895) CE) deciphered the language and translated it into English.
 CONTRIBUTIONS
5
It is considered the most significant among many cultural contributions of the
Sumerians and the greatest among those of the Sumerian city of Uruk which
advanced the writing.
Sumerian cuneiform is the earliest known writing system. Its origin can be trace
back to about 8000 BC and it developed from the pictographs and other symbols
used to represent trade goods and livetock on clay tablets.
Cuneiform was used by people throughout the ancient Near East to write several
different languages.

Is cuneiform still used today?

-The two main languages written in cuneiform are Sumerian and Akkadian
(from ancient Iraq), although more than a dozen others are recorded. This means
we could use it equally well today to spell Chinese, Hungarian or English.
THANKS