The Sumerians: The Invention of Writing

who invented the world's first writing?

• Sargon

• The Sumerians

• Gilgamesh

• The Akkadians

What is cuneiform?

• Sumerian religious temples

• A type of pottery

• The first system of writing, developed in Sumer.

• A Sumerian farming technique

How was cuneiform made?

• The used burned sticks to mark paper.

• They used sharp tools called styluses to make wedge-shaped symbols on clay tablets.

• They made paint from berries and painted symbols on stone slabs.

• They made ink from tree sap and used feathers to draw symbols on wood slabs.

In cuneiform, each symbol could represent...Check all that apply

• objects

• punctuation

• syllables

• parts of words

What were pictographs?

• portraits of kings

• Sumerian coins used for trade

• artists stamps

• a picture symbol that represented an object

What were the responsibilities of a scribe? Check all that apply.

• document business transactions

• keep records for government officials and temples

• keep records of taxes

• write daily diaries

Becoming a scribe was a way to move up in social class.

• True

• False

Sumerian children went to school to learn to read and write.

• True

• False

Sumerians wrote long poems about gods and military victories called...

• proverbs

• epics

• songs

• short stories

The Epic of Gilgamesh was...

• the story of the rise of Sumer.

• the story of the creation of the Sumerian gods.

• a love story about a young couple that could not be together.

• the story of a legendary Sumerian king.