TechnologyThe Middle East

The alphabet

1,801 BCE

Writing that takes weeks to learn instead of years

In depth

The oldest traces were scratched by Semitic workers in Egyptian turquoise mines in Sinai, who borrowed hieroglyphs and gave them sound values from their own language. The Phoenicians refined the system and spread it with their trade; the Greeks added vowels. Nearly every alphabet in use today — Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew, Indic — descends from this single invention.

For children

Cuneiform and hieroglyphs had hundreds of signs, and only specialists learned them. Then someone thought of using one sign per sound. With twenty-three signs anyone could learn to write — and writing ceased to be the property of power.

Connects to

Writing is invented3,201 BCE
The Phoenicians1,201 BCE – 301 BCE
Democracy in Athens509 BCE

Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org