Cuneiform: signs pressed into clay
Cuneiform is one of the oldest known writing systems. Its early form emerged in Mesopotamia in the late fourth millennium BCE. Signs were pressed into soft clay with a reed stylus; tablets could be sun-dried or fired to preserve a record.
Illustration is AI-generated and conceptual, not a reproduction of a particular tablet.
During the same broad historical period, hieroglyphic writing developed in Egypt. Archaeological dates for early signs are close, so it is difficult to name one system with certainty as the undisputed first. The earliest cuneiform records mainly tracked goods and economic transactions; later, writing recorded laws, prayers, letters, and literature.