World's oldest writing system was built for all languages — yet only 100 people know it
'You just press the stylus into the clay gently and displace the surface to make these shapes...'
If you had a choice, would you still choose the traditional pen and paper instead of your smartphone to jot down something important? Your answer will most likely be a no, because interacting through technology has become incredibly easy. However, things were different thousands of years ago. In fact, people used a reed stylus pressed into clay to write, and this ancient method was called "cuneiform." In a video, Dr Irving Finkel of the British Museum taught Matt and Tom, YouTubers, how to write in cuneiform, and it's simply mind-boggling!
He began by showing a clay tablet that had text inscribed on it. The word "cuneiform" is derived from the Latin word "cuneus," which means wedge, and "forma," meaning shape. "In this writing, there are only three components. There is one upright wedge, there is one horizontal wedge, and there is one diagonal wedge," Dr. Irving explained to Matt and Tom. Moving on, he showed how to inscribe the texts onto the clay tablet. Dr. Irving said, "You just press the stylus into the clay gently and displace the surface to make these shapes." Next, the professor informed us that there are more than a hundred signs, but to learn, one has to stick to the cuneiform chart to learn the writing form. "All the signs are syllabic. They never thought of the alphabet," he added. So, for example, if someone wanted to write the word 'banana,' Dr. Irving said, one has to basically find the signs 'ba' and 'na' to write them in the sequence. But how long does it take for someone to learn cuneiform? Well, Dr. Irving said, "You will need approximately 6 years of dedicated work to master the entire script."
Meanwhile, reacting to the YouTube video, @thegardenofeatin5965 wrote, "Out of simple curiosity about the world around me, I've stumbled upon that big project out in the desert of America to entomb radioactive waste that will be dangerous for 10,000 years, and how we need to make messages that will be understood that far in advance. Judging by the longevity of cuneiform tablets, I think we need to have school-going children do their homework on clay tablets and then bury them around the site as a large sample of the language so English can be relearned in the far future."
@westronic confessed, "This video inspired me to start writing cuneiform, which launched me into working with clay in general. Thank you, Matt and Tom!" @shorkshire asked, "Could I really somehow dedicate my life to transcribing cuneiform tablets in the British Museum? Because I would absolutely do that." @nnaahhooyy, who absolutely loved Professor Finkel, said, "I just cannot express how cool Dr. Irving is; it feels like he is still 20 in his head. I could listen to him teaching me anything with that enthusiasm." @mariemelansongundy-vx4ox commented, "There are several dictionaries on cuneiform, and they are pretty up-to-date. As of 10 years ago, there were only around 20 to 30 people who could read cuneiform. Now it's around 80 to 100. Thank you, Professor Finkel. Always amazing."
You can follow Matt and Tom (@mattandtom) on YouTube for more such educational content.
More on Scoop Upworthy
Scientists uncover ancient footprint that suggests humans came to North America 23,000 years ago
Share on Facebook
