II INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCE OF YOUNG RESEARCHERS
488
Qafqaz University
18-19 April 2014, Baku, Azerbaijan
THE HISTORY OF WRITING
Elvin NURƏDDİNLİ
Qafqaz Universiteti
enureddinli-1@std.qu.edu.az
Bakı/AZƏRBAYCAN
The history of writing
In the history of how systems of representation of language through graphic means have evolved in different human
civilizations, more complete writing systems were preceded by proto-writing, systems of ideographic and/or early
mnemonic symbols.
Inventions of writing
Writing numbers for the purpose of record keeping began long before the writing of language. It is generally agreed
that true writing of language (not only numbers) was invented independently in at least two places: Mesopotamia
(specifically, ancient Sumer) around 3200 BCE and Mesoamerica around 600 BCE. Several Mesoamerican scripts are
known, the oldest being from the Olmec or Zapotec of Mexico.
It is debated whether writing systems were developed completely independently in Egypt around 3200 BCE and in
China around 1200 BCE.
Chinese characters are probably an independent invention, because there is no evidence of contact between China and
the literate civilizations of the Near East, and because of the distinct differences between the Mesopotamian and Chinese
approaches to logography and phonetic representation.
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