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Cuneiform
Ancient Sumerians used sharp reeds to scratch symbols into
wet clay tablets. The dried tablets became permanent records.
Cuneiform symbols looked like the signs they represented. Over
time, they simplified their figures so they could be formed more
quickly.
As in ancient Egypt few people could write. Even kings
usually could not. It was an honor to be able to go to school and
learn to be a scribe. Boys and, very rarely, girls spent years
studying in local schools. First they learned how to make clay
tablets and reed pens. Then students practiced over and over
how to write the basic signs of cuneiform. Scribes in Sumer also
had to study mathematics so they would be able to keep accurate
records. Trained scribes could and did write almost anything.
Scribes also recorded stories, laws, and songs. The sturdy
ancient tablets have survived thousands of years. They have
helped historians to piece together a detailed picture of early
Mesopotamia.
1. How were the materials used for cuneiform and
hieroglyphics similar and different?
2. Why did cuneiform symbols grow less picture-like as
time passed?
3. Why did scribes need an education?
4. Why were scribes essential (important) in Sumer?
Sumerian City-States
Cuneiform writing first appeared in about 3500 B.C. Over the next
thousand years, Sumerian life centered around the city-states of southern
Mesopotamia. A city-state is a self-governing city that also governs
surrounding villages. Find the city-states Ur, Uruk, and Kish on the map.
5. Which city-state is furthest south in Sumer?