The Ancient Near East was the cradle of humanity. As civilization began to take hold in this part of the world, so did the development of writing systems, among which cuneiform is one of the oldest known. Cuneiform is a stylized, pictographic writing system that has its origins in Mesopotamia, present-day Iraq, and was first developed in the ancient city of Uruk around 3300 BC.
In chapter one, the author explains what cuneiform is and explores the context in which it was created. In order to fully understand cuneiform, she discusses the techniques used by scribes to create it, along with the people and places it connected. By looking at ancient artifacts and archives, she sheds light on the importance cuneiform had in the Ancient Near East. As a real example, she looks at the Code of Hammurabi, a legal document from Mesopotamia that outlines several laws and punishments and showcases the power of cuneiform.
Chapter two examines the legacy of cuneiform and how it was shaped by the Ancient Near Eastern empires who adopted it. The author discusses how cuneiform was used by Assyria, Persia, and Babylon, as well as how the use of cuneiform spread beyond the Middle East. She explains how a standardized version of cuneiform developed around 1500 BC, as well as how it started to be phased out due to the rise of the Greek alphabet and other writing systems by the first century AD. As an example, she looks at the Cyrus Cylinder, a clay cylinder belonging to the Persian-led Achaemenid Empire which used cuneiform to spread the teachings and philosophy of the religion known as Zoroastrianism.
Chapter three looks at the recovery and decipherment of cuneiform. Initially, it was impossible to read cuneiform, as the knowledge of the language and writing system was lost by the time of the Islamic conquests in the seventh century AD. However, in the early nineteenth century, scholars rediscovered cuneiform by deciphering clay tablets found in Mesopotamia, such as those of the Epic of Gilgamesh. As a real example, she looks at the work of scholars like Edward Hincks, who was the first to understand how to read cuneiform, as well as George Smith, who translated the Epic of Gilgamesh in full.
Chapter four examines cuneiform’s contemporary relevance. The author explains how cuneiform remains an important source of scholarly research, as well as its contribution to the fields of archaeology, history, and linguistics. She then looks at cuneiform’s influence on various aspects of modern civilization, such as its influence on current writing systems, movies and TV shows, and even the English language. As a real example, she looks at the influence of cuneiform on the popular zombie-apocalypse show The Walking Dead, where cuneiform is used by the survivors to communicate with one another.
In conclusion, the book Cuneiform provides a comprehensive look at cuneiform’s history and legacy, from its origins in Mesopotamia and its spread to other parts of the world, to its modern-day influence in both scholarly research and popular culture. Through real-life examples, the author illustrates the importance of cuneiform in the Ancient Near East and its relevance to our modern-day world.
