The world's oldest known system of writing was influenced by symbols used for trade — engravings found on cylinders used in the exchange of farming produce and textiles, a new study suggests. The ...

While historians know roughly where and when humans first began writing, they have many unanswered questions about how and why the practice arose. Now, a new paper suggests that one of the world’s ...

(CNN) — Researchers have uncovered links between the precursor to the world’s oldest writing system and the mysterious, intricate designs left behind by engraved cylindrical seals that were rolled ...

The discovery of 5,000-year-old linguistic inscriptions predates by 1,400 years the earliest known Chinese writing and matches the age of the oldest known human writing in Mesopotamia. (via ...

New discoveries challenge old ideas about the earliest alphabets. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. With so many ancient texts ...

This is a reading comprehension exercise for children. It was written by Susan Fineman, a reading specialist in the New Haven, Conn., school district. Symbols carved on stones 2,600 years ago in ...

Ancient writing systems tell stories of forgotten civilizations and lost knowledge. Their decipherment often requires decades of scholarly work, combining linguistics, archaeology, and historical ...

SANTA CRUZ — While a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, UC Santa Cruz history professor Elaine Sullivan unearthed ancient artifacts in Syria marked with an alphabetic script whose meaning ...