History of handwriting

The oldest recorded form of handwriting was indented in clay tablets over 5,000 years ago!

Known as Cuneiform writing, it was first developed by Sumerian scribes around 3200 B.C. It started in the ancient city of Uruk (which today is known as Iraq) and was used to record transactions.

The language was made up of marks that could be combined in different ways to form syllables. The syllables could be put together to form words.

The Cuneiform writing tradition lasted 3,000 years, and over time it was chiselled into stone objects, as well as indented into clay.