The earliest evidence of a writing system came from Mesopotamia (present day Iraq). For the past 200 years archaeologists working in the region discovered large collections of ancient written document in the form of clay tablets with a cuneiform script. These incised signs were the first know written script, which led scholars to conclude that writing was invented by the Sumerians (who inhabited Mesopotamia at that time) around 3100 BCE.
Back in the ancient times, not everyone can write (or were allowed to write). Writings were often done by the scribes or priests, who worked for the rulers or government. Considering that only a handful could write during those times, we should consider ourselves fortunate that humanity progressed this far, and that all of us here can read and write (something that we sometimes take for granted). Very early writings were often about government affairs, or religious issues. The Dead Sea Scrolls is an example of religious writings in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was discovered in some caves in Qumran (about a kilometer away from the Dead Sea), hence the name. The Dead Sea scrolls contain the earliest known surviving copies of Biblical texts on parchment and papyrus!
Writing comes in many forms. The ancient Egyptians wrote their language in the form of pictures (as a saying goes: "A picture is worth a thousand words!"). The writing is called hieroglyphs, which means "sacred carvings". These ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic writings could be deciphered today, thanks to the discovery of the Rosetta stone in Egypt by Napoleon's French army in 1799. The stone tablet had two forms of writing on it. One form is in ancient Greek, and the other in Egyptian hieroglyphs. This allowed scholars to eventually unlock the secrets of reading these ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs in 1822.
Above: The Rosetta Stone
However, not everything is that simple when it comes to the translation of ancient writings by scholars in this field. The ancient text often has to have a "key" in order for it to be translated. The "key" may come in the form of a side-by-side or word-for-word translation of the text like in the case of the Rosetta Stone. As of today, there are a few ancient writings that continue to remain untranslated, one particular set of ancient writings is the Rongo Rongo tablets of Easter Island (or Rapa Nui), which has remained a mystery till today. For over a hundred years since its discovery, much controversy surrounds the translation of these enigmatic inscriptions. According to oral traditions by the locals, these hieroglyphic-like inscriptions (about one centimeter high, very formal and highly stylised) were done using obsidian flakes or a shark's tooth! The descendants of Rapa Nui were of Polynesian descent, and was first believed to have inhabited Easter Island around 400CE.
Above: The Rongo Rongo Tablet of Easter Island
References cited:
http://www.ancientscripts.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island
Back in the ancient times, not everyone can write (or were allowed to write). Writings were often done by the scribes or priests, who worked for the rulers or government. Considering that only a handful could write during those times, we should consider ourselves fortunate that humanity progressed this far, and that all of us here can read and write (something that we sometimes take for granted). Very early writings were often about government affairs, or religious issues. The Dead Sea Scrolls is an example of religious writings in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. It was discovered in some caves in Qumran (about a kilometer away from the Dead Sea), hence the name. The Dead Sea scrolls contain the earliest known surviving copies of Biblical texts on parchment and papyrus!
Writing comes in many forms. The ancient Egyptians wrote their language in the form of pictures (as a saying goes: "A picture is worth a thousand words!"). The writing is called hieroglyphs, which means "sacred carvings". These ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic writings could be deciphered today, thanks to the discovery of the Rosetta stone in Egypt by Napoleon's French army in 1799. The stone tablet had two forms of writing on it. One form is in ancient Greek, and the other in Egyptian hieroglyphs. This allowed scholars to eventually unlock the secrets of reading these ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs in 1822.
Above: The Rosetta Stone
However, not everything is that simple when it comes to the translation of ancient writings by scholars in this field. The ancient text often has to have a "key" in order for it to be translated. The "key" may come in the form of a side-by-side or word-for-word translation of the text like in the case of the Rosetta Stone. As of today, there are a few ancient writings that continue to remain untranslated, one particular set of ancient writings is the Rongo Rongo tablets of Easter Island (or Rapa Nui), which has remained a mystery till today. For over a hundred years since its discovery, much controversy surrounds the translation of these enigmatic inscriptions. According to oral traditions by the locals, these hieroglyphic-like inscriptions (about one centimeter high, very formal and highly stylised) were done using obsidian flakes or a shark's tooth! The descendants of Rapa Nui were of Polynesian descent, and was first believed to have inhabited Easter Island around 400CE.
Above: The Rongo Rongo Tablet of Easter Island
References cited:
http://www.ancientscripts.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Island
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ReplyDeleteA) The purpose of the artefact is for the Shang Dynasty people to offer drinks like wine .
B) This tells me that the people of this civilisation in the Shang Dynasty had skilled craftsmen. They used bronze and used a razor-sharp edges and carved . Their carves were very detailed. The picture shows me that their carvings were very detailed. Therefore, we can conclude that there were very skilled craftsmen in the Shang Dynasty.
(1/7-14) This passage tells me that in the past, the people had a writing system. In the past, people had invented a way to communicate with eachother, so they started to communicate by using rocks and stones, by writing on them.
ReplyDelete1/7-08(A)The purpose of this artefact is to help the people of the Shang dynasty drink wine.(B) I can infer that the Shang dynasty people had good and advanced craftsmen. This is evident in the complex design on the sides of the artefact. Therefore they were trained and skilled craftsmen.
ReplyDelete1/8-23 a)source a tells us that the people were not allowed to write accept for the scribe and priest , who worked for the government. b) source b tells us how the writtings came about in the past.
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