Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3110BC to the first century BC

Shown above is Sumerian pictograph.

This is an example of evolved Sumerian form (shown above).

This is an example of Akkaidian cuneiform. (above)

As one can see, the Sumerian pictographs are the least developed of the group, and the symbols are very vague. As time goes on, the pictographs evolve, and become more specific, as is shown in the second picture, and as even more time progresses, the pictures become more advanced, and all even stand for many different specific things. This is shown in the last photograph.

1. A nomadic civilization is a civilization that moves around in location depending on what resources are available in the area. The Sumerians were a nomadic civilization. They moved to areas with fertile land.

2.The Sumerians created a visual form of communication because they wanted some way to record their stories and other important parts of life for future generations to see. And most importantly, they wanted to keep track of business transactions.

3. The Sumerians wrote their symbols and pictographs of cuneiform on clay tablets using a wedge shaped stylus.

4. A pictogram is a way of using a picture to describe a product. An ideogram uses abstract shapes to create a system of writing that will stand for a product. A pictogram actually looks like the thing it stands for, where as an ideogram stands for an idea.