Writing Systems of the Ancient World CUNEIFORM HIEROGLYPHICS

Writing Systems of the Ancient World CUNEIFORM, HIEROGLYPHICS, SANSKRIT AND ANCIENT CHINESE

Writing Systems �Pictograms – words represented by basic symbols that resembled the object �Ideograms – when a set of symbols represents a whole word �Phonograms – symbols that represent a sound

Cuneiform latin: wedge shape http: //www. hssd. k 12. wi. us/bayport/staff/berna/wh 101/student/wh 101/3 rd/amandabegotka. htm

History of Cuneiform �Created by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia around 3300 B. C. �Symbols were wedge and hook shaped, made in wet clay with long reeds �Later adopted and modified by the Semitic peoples - Assyrians and Babylonians �Transition from Ideographic to Phonetic http: //www. wsu. edu/~dee/GLOSSARY/CUNEI. HTM and http: //www. upenn. edu/museum/Games/cuneiform. html

Hieroglyphics and Hieratic Hieroglyphics were used in stone and other hard surfaces usually for ceremonial purposes Hieratic was a more cursive – like, simpler form used on papyrus, leather or wood http: //www. touregypt. net/featurestories/writing. htm

History of Hieroglyphics �Hieroglyphic is a Greek word meaning: sacred drawings or writings �Began being used around 3100 B. C. �About 700 different symbols used singularly and in combination �Both pictographic and phonetic �Could be written vertically or horizontally http: //www. ancient-egypt-online. com/history-of-hieroglyphics. html

Language of Harappa and Mohenjo - Daro • The language of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa are still not translatable to date • It is a pictographic language • Over 400 different pictograms have been found http: //www. harappa. com/script/maha 0. html

Vedic Sanskrit http: //www. iskcon. org. uk/news/2004/apr/index. html

Vedic Sanskrit �Developed around 1500 B. C. �Oldest known text is the Rigveda – a collection of poems and hymns of the Hindu religion �Writing used mainly for transmission of religion �A later version of the language is still in limited use today primarily in a religious context �A phonetic language

Ancient Chinese �Began as pictograms �Oracle Bones were used in the Shang dynasty at this point it is already an advanced system of writing �Zhou dynasty shows the use of writing on Bronze vessels generally for ritualistic purposes

The Start of Modern Chinese �Modern Chinese began to be seen as early as 500 BC �Language was now written on bamboo, silk and wood and began to document more than religious and ceremonial themes �Language largely remained unchanged until the 19 th century AD http: //www. logoi. com/notes/chinese_origins. html