The Sumerians, Maya and other ancient cultures created texts that have lasted hundreds and even thousands of years. Here's what they can teach us about crafting an immortal message.

The ancient Sumerians invented writing, the wheel, arithmetic, irrigation and beer, and they worshipped a number of gods and goddesses. Skip to content. All Sections. Subscribe Now. 77°F.

Created to write the Sumerian language, the script was later adapted for Akkadian—which was spoken by the Babylonians—and subsequently other tongues, such as Hittite.

A 4,000-year-old Sumerian proverb about a dog that walks into a tavern has left scholars and thousands of online commenters scratching their heads. The joke’s meaning has been lost, but finding ...

The script—not itself a language—was used by scribes of multiple cultures over that time to write a number of languages other than Sumerian, most notably Akkadian, a Semitic language that was ...

The finding reinforces an idea proposed in earlier research: that cuneiform script — which was developed in early Mesopotamia around 3100 B.C. and is thought to be the earliest writing system ...