Was the Phoenician writing system a true alphabet? If not, what should it be called instead, and what was the earliest true ...

Long before those rules were invented, symbols representing basic concepts ... cylinder seals they analyzed originated before writing emerged in ancient Mesopotamia, through to the proto-literate ...

Ancient Chinese writing developed early in the second millennium ... Instead, they are either logographic writing systems — where each symbol represents a word or concept, such as "mountain ...

Save guides, add subjects and pick up where you left off with your BBC account. The ancient Egyptians invented one of the earliest known writing systems used from around 3000 BC. The symbols they ...

At Tell Umm-el Marra, finger-length clay cylinders, unearthed by Johns Hopkins University archaeologists, show engraved symbols—possibly the earliest alphabetic writing—found at this ancient ...