Writing is possibly one of the most relevant inventions in the history of mankind. Without it, it would be very difficult to communicate and understand each other and it has served, throughout history, to transfer knowledge from generation to generation.
The value of writing was already very much in mind by ancient men when they developed this ability to make themselves understood, to account for and manage their properties in order to have a record of them.
The truth is that it is not really clear where the writing first arose. Mesopotamia has always been the cradle of origin , but over time many researchers have advocated a gradual invention and at the same time in different parts of the planet.
Uruk
Most historians agree that the writing, or at least the oldest known samples of writing , date back more than 5,500 years. The city of Uruk was one of the most prosperous cities in ancient times. It was a kind of accountant, a sheep worker who unintentionally found the origin of writing.
To count the sheep that left their property with each shepherd, these accountants used balls and cones to count. One day, when he had no marbles, the accountant came up with a mark at the sheep that came out in a noise – a clay sphere at the time. Unintentionally he had given rise to writing.
This was not imagined by historians, there is evidence of bullae discovered at the beginning of the last century that gives rise to think that the origin of the writing could be this.
As a result of this, the researchers discovered that this initial writing was improved with other symbolic marks that ended up creating their own language and writing system.
Pictograms
It is difficult to establish a place in history to define the origin of writing. It should not be forgotten that the pictograms that Homo Erectus themselves used for cave walls already existed, although they cannot be considered an alphabet.
So well, the controversy has always been served because in China we also find hieroglyphic language for thousands of years . It is not well known whether the Egyptians were influenced by them or vice versa.
Also, for many years the Phoenicians have been called the inventors of the alphabet, although there are samples of earlier pictographic alphabets.
In short, it is very difficult to establish a specific place where writing appeared, although with the archaeological findings available, Uruk, and his first marks in the bullae, would be very close to being the inventors of writing.
