Editor-DN
US researchers have discovered what appears to be the world’s oldest alphabetic script after excavating finger-length clay cylinders from a tomb in Syria with details. Using carbon-14 dating techniques, Johns Hopkins University researchers determined that the cylinders were created around 2400 BC, making them about 500 years older than any other known alphabetic script. Along with the inscriptions, the researchers discovered early Bronze Age tombs, including a well-preserved tomb with six burials inside.
The bodies were accompanied by gold and silver ornaments, cooking utensils, a spear and pottery. Four “light-baked clay cylinders” accompanied the pottery and were engraved with an alphabetic script. Specifically, they were discovered in 2004 and described in a 2021 academic paper, but gained prominence only this week as one of the researchers presented the findings at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research. .
“This new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in different places than we previously thought.” said Glenn Schwartz, a professor of archeology at Johns Hopkins University, is associated with the research.
Read this also Archaeologists have discovered a hidden ancient language dating back 3,000 years.
‘different origins’
Long before the alphabet existed, human civilizations used various means of communication. While the Sumerians of Mesopotamia used cuneiforms or small images, the ancient Egyptians developed hieroglyphics, and Chinese characters fragmented the written language.
“Previously, scholars believed that the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt after 1900 BC. Our artifacts are older and from a different area on the map, suggesting that the origin story of the alphabet is our thinking. can be quite different,” Mr. Schwartz added.
The discovery of clay cylinder writing may have revolutionized the language by making it accessible to people outside of royalty and social elites. However, scientists have been unable to translate what the writing on the cylinder means.
“The cylinders were perforated, so I’m imagining a wire connecting them to something else and acting as labels. They may have detailed the contents of a vessel, or maybe As to where the vessel came from, or whose inscription it belonged to, we can only speculate.
