Cuneiform

(noun)

One of the earliest known forms of written expression that began as a system of pictographs. It emerged in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV period).

Related Terms

(adjective)

Cuneiform is one of the earliest known forms of written expression. Emerging in Sumer around the 30th century BC, with predecessors reaching into the late 4th millennium (the Uruk IV period), cuneiform writing began as a system of pictographs.

Related Terms

Examples of Cuneiform in the following topics:

  • Akkad

    • Before Akkad was identified in Mesopotamian cuneiform texts, the city was only known from a single reference in Genesis 10:10.
    • However, the city of Akkad is mentioned more than 160 times in cuneiform sources ranging in date from the Akkadian period itself (2350–2170 or 2230–2050 BCE, according to respectively the Middle or Short Chronology) to the sixth century BCE.
    • Cuneiform sources also suggest that the Akkadians worshipped Ishtar.
    • A combined analysis of cuneiform and topographical/archaeological field survey data led archaeologist Harvey Weiss to suggest that Akkad is modern Ishan Mizyad, a large site approximately 3.1 miles northwest from Kish.

  • Ceramics in Mesopotamia

    • A collection of administrative texts in cuneiform writing on display at the Oriental Institute Museum, University of Chicago.

  • The Mesopotamian Cultures

    • An early form of wedge-shaped writing called cuneiform developed in the early Sumerian period.
    • During this time, cuneiform and pictograms suggest the abundance of pottery and other artistic traditions.
    • Example of Sumerian pictorial cuneiform writing.

  • The Hittites

    • Furthermore, the Hittites used Mesopotamian cuneiform letters.
    • Archaeological expeditions have discovered in Hattusa entire sets of royal archives in cuneiform tablets.

  • Sculpture in Mesopotamia

    • Sculptural forms include humans, animals, and cylinder seals with cuneiform writing and imagery in the round or as reliefs.
    • A cylinder seal discovered in the royal tomb of Queen Puabi depicts two registers of a palace banquet scene punctuated by cuneiform script, marking a growing complexity in the imagery of this form of notarization.
    • On the right hand side of the stele, cuneiform script provides narration.

  • The Assyrian Culture

    • The cuneiform text on the obelisk reads "Jehu the son of Omri" and mentions gifts of gold, silver, lead, and spear shafts.
    • A large number of cuneiform tablets were found in the palace.

  • Timeline

    • 3000 BCE: Sumerian Cuneiform emerges from the proto-literate Uruk period, allowing the codification of beliefs and creation of detailed historical religious records .

  • Artifacts of Assyria

    • Additionally, they bear inscriptions in Assyrian cuneiform and Phoenician script, indicating use by speakers of both languages.

  • Nineveh

    • A large number of cuneiform tablets were found in the palace.

  • Art of the Bronze Age

    • According to archaeological evidence, cultures in Egypt (hieroglyphs), the Near East (cuneiform), and the Mediterranean, with the Mycenaean culture (Linear B), had viable writing systems.