Tableau may be oldest text / Scenes, symbols near Luxor may predate Sumerian script. By John Noble Wilford, New York Times April 16, 2002. ... perhaps earlier than Sumerian writing. ...

Tablets from some of the world’s oldest civilisations hold rich details about life thousands of years ago, but few people today can read them. New technology is helping to unlock them.

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.

Around 2,500 years ago, a princess living in what is now modern-day Iraq collected a number of artefacts, including a statue, ...