c. 3200 BCEReputable sourceWell documented
The Invention of Cuneiform Writing
On the timeline · around c. 3200 BCE ·
What happened
Sumerian scribes began pressing a reed stylus into wet clay to record grain, livestock and trade. These wedge-shaped marks — cuneiform, from the Latin for 'wedge' — grew from simple pictographs into a full writing system.
Why it matters
This is the first writing in human history. It made law, literature, science and record-keeping possible, and marks the boundary between prehistory and recorded history.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Cuneiform · Reputable source