While earlier writing systems had already emerged before 2400 B.C.—such as cuneiform, for example—these did not make use of an alphabet. Cuneiform, considered to be the oldest known writing ...

including what seem to be early alphabetic symbols inscribed on several Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets dating from the 18th-16th centuries CE, suggested “a northern Levantine context for the ...

This writing system was in use for more than 30 centuries and was finally replaced by alphabetic writing during the Roman era. It was not until 1857 that the decipherment of cuneiform was completed.

The wedge-shaped writing on the tablets, known as cuneiform, demonstrated that these ancient stargazers used geometric calculations to predict the motion of Jupiter. Scholars had assumed it wasn ...

This writing system was in use for more than 30 centuries and was finally replaced by alphabetic writing during the Roman era. It was not until 1857 that the decipherment of cuneiform was completed.