历史小径·世界史英语30篇（4）

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最早的书写系统：改变世界的符号

Around 3400 BCE, people in ancient Sumer developed cuneiform — wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets.
These early symbols began as simple pictures but slowly became signs for sounds and abstract ideas.
Scribes used reed styluses to make impressions, and dried or baked tablets preserved records for thousands of years.
Writing helped governments collect taxes, track trade, and record laws like the Code of Ur-Nammu.
Egyptians created hieroglyphs around the same time, often carved on temple walls or written on papyrus.
Unlike oral stories, written texts could be copied, checked, and studied across generations without distortion.
Scholars still decode new tablets today, revealing details about daily life, religion, and diplomacy.
This invention did not spread quickly, but it laid the foundation for education, history, and science.