The introduction of writing systems changed the world. It allowed humans to physically express thoughts and language, as well as record events for future generations to study. Although different ...

The accepted story is that the first alphabet developed in the Sinai Peninsula around 1,900 B.C., an innovation on Egyptian hieroglyphics, but a discovery in a tomb in Syria challenges that narrative.

Researchers investigating how the first writing arose identified the motifs on preliterate "cylinder seals" used in the trade of agricultural products and textiles.