Page 78 - Key to Social Studies 4

Let’s Observe

Sumerian Writings and Language

The Sumerian language was very distinctive

and di erent from any other technique used at

its time, and this di erence was shown in all

Sumerian monuments.

The Sumerian language was written using a

wedged tool to carve shapes into wet clay.

The Sumerian language and writings were only

used around the Mesopotamian area. People

in this area spoke a language called Akkadian

and wrote using Sumerian.
Ancient Sumerian stone carving with
Egyptian Writings and Language cuneiform scripting

Egyptian writings and language went through

a lot of changes before they were settled. Old

Egyptian, or hieroglyphics, was the rst written

language, which dated back to 2690 B.C.E.

Then, Middle Egyptian, which was also a

modi ed version of the hieroglyphs, was more

cursive and better understood. However, the

language kept changing till Late Egyptian

appeared around 1350 B.C.E.

Later on, the Egyptian spoken and written
Egyptian hieroglyphic carvings on a wall
language became Demotic and Coptic, which

survived for a few centuries after that.

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