Download unieform playdough activity

CUNEIFORM
Directions: Cuneiform was the first writing system ever developed by the Mesopotamians. Mesopotamians
used sharpened reeds, called a stylus, to make these wedge shaped symbols in wet clay. Use the cuneiform
symbols below, using their corresponding meaning, to tell me something about yourself. Use your pen/pencil
as your stylus and carve into your clay, the play dough
I
cheerleading
like / love
baseball / softball
hate
soccer
have
want
wrestling
play
tennis
am
track / cross country
instrument
animals
computers
videogames
dog
brother
cat
art / drawing
sister
music
religious
sing
meat
dance
well
1
2
lacrosse
3
4
football
volleyball
swimming
The words associated with the cuneiform symbols in the above activity were not the actual words. The words
listed below are the words associated with those symbols:
 Pig
 Walk
 Cow
 Sun
 Eat
 Donkey
 Well
 Dog
 Reed
 Ox
 Water
 Plough
 Bird
 Pot
 Fish
 Head
 Date palms
 Sun
 Orchard
 Barley
 Sheep
What did their words focus on? What does this suggest about their culture?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
After completing the activity, would you have kept a journal if you lived in ancient Mesopotamia? Why or why
not?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
What was the most difficult thing about this activity?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Before Mesopotamia, people did not have enough time to write because they were too busy hunting and
gathering. What invention would gave the Mesopotamians more time to specialize in other things like writing?
__________________________________________________________________________________________