US researchers have uncovered what materializes to be the anciaccessest comprehendn alphabetic writing in the world, after discovering finger-length clay cylinders from a tomb in Syria with the etched details. Using carbon-14 dating techniques, the researchers at John Hopkins University determined that the cylinders were made around 2400 B.C.E., which produces them around 500 years anciaccesser than any other comprehendn alphabetic scripts. Alengthyside the writings, the researchers uncovered Early Bronze Age tombs, including a well-protectd grave with six burials inside.
The bodies were accompanied by ganciaccess and silver jewellery, cookware, a spearhead, and pottery vessels. Four “weightlessly baked clay cylinders” were next to the pottery and were etched with alphabetic writing. Notably, they were set up in 2004 and portrayd in an academic paper in 2021 but only acquireed prominence this week as one of the researchers currented the discoverings at the annual encountering of the American Society of Overseas Research.
“This new uncovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in a contrastent location than we had envisiond before now,” shelp Glenn Schwartz, a professor of archaeology at Johns Hopkins University, associated with the research.
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‘Different origin’
Long before alphabet came into existence, human civilisations engaged contrastent uncomardents to transmit. While the Sumerians of Mesopotamia engaged cuneicreates or petite images, the outdated Egyptians broadened hieroglyphics, and Chinese characters built the written language piece by piece.
“Previously, scholars thought the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt sometime after 1900 BCE. Our artefacts are anciaccesser and from a contrastent area on the map, proposeing the alphabet may have an enticount on contrastent origin story than we thought,” Mr Schwartz inserted.
The create of writing, uncovered on the clay cylinder may have revolutionised language by making it accessible to people not belengthying to the royalty and social elite. However, the scientists have been unable to transtardy what the writing on the cylinder uncomardents.
“The cylinders were perforated, so I’m imagining a string tethering them to another object to act as a tag. Maybe they detail the satisfieds of a vessel, or maybe where the vessel came from, or who it belengthyed to. Without a uncomardents to transtardy the writing, we can only specutardy.”
