This video explores cuneiform writing, one of the world's oldest writing systems, originating in Mesopotamia over 5,000 years ago. It focuses on various clay tablets (such as The Flood Tablet) inscribed with wedge-shaped marks, illustrating the distinctive style of this ancient script. Learn about early writing from ancient civilizations like the Sumerians, who developed it, and the types of ideas they recorded on clay.

Speaker: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank

CHAPTERS

0:00 Introduction to cuneiform

0:24 Meaning of cuneiform

0:52 Making a cuneiform tablet

1:12 The evolution of cuneiform script

1:40 What was recorded using cuneiform

2:00 The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Flood Tablet and Libraries

2:53 Scribes

3:10 Helping people communicate

This video is perfect for anyone interested in:

• Mesopotamia, the Ancient Near East

• Ancient West Asia

• Ancient Civilizations

• Writing Systems