Which writing system was developed by the Sumerians around 3,000 B.C. using a wedge-shaped stylus on clay tablets?

Which writing system was developed by the Sumerians around 3,000 B.C. using a wedge-shaped stylus on clay tablets?

• A. Hieroglyphics
• B. Cuneiform
• C. Latin alphabet
• D. Greek letters

Answer: (B)

This question tests knowledge of the first writing system created by the Sumerians and how they wrote. They developed cuneiform by pressing a reed stylus into damp clay, producing wedge-shaped marks that could be baked or dried to harden. This method gave a durable way to record goods, laws, and transactions across Mesopotamia, and the system evolved to represent many languages in the region over centuries. Hieroglyphics are the Egyptian system of pictorial writing, written on stone or papyrus, not clay with wedges. The Latin alphabet and Greek letters are later European scripts derived from other ancient alphabets, not the original Sumerian method.

This question tests knowledge of the first writing system created by the Sumerians and how they wrote. They developed cuneiform by pressing a reed stylus into damp clay, producing wedge-shaped marks that could be baked or dried to harden. This method gave a durable way to record goods, laws, and transactions across Mesopotamia, and the system evolved to represent many languages in the region over centuries.

Hieroglyphics are the Egyptian system of pictorial writing, written on stone or papyrus, not clay with wedges. The Latin alphabet and Greek letters are later European scripts derived from other ancient alphabets, not the original Sumerian method.