Before cuneiform, however, humans used a simpler writing system called proto-cuneiform that appeared around 3350 to 3000 B.C.E. These early writing systems featured symbols that were pressed or ...

Now, experts have linked early cuneiform symbols to designs that appear on cylinder seals between 4400-3400BC, a millennium earlier. Similar images representing words such as wine vessels ...

It's called 'cuneiform,' which means wedge-shaped. This tablet is a record of the daily beer rations for workers. Beer here is represented by an upright jar with a pointed base. The symbol for ...