Who invented letters and numbers

Lotter Jun 6, Jun 17, Eclipse Dec 21, Thx a lot. Feb 5, Vanesa Oct 23, Oct 26, That's our thing, Vanesa! Thanks for checking this Wonder out with us! Carolyn Sep 28, Thank you so much for the information! May I ask though. Thank you so much. Oct 3, The following is how you would cite this page: "Who Invented the Alphabet? Wonderopolis Dec 4, Hello People I am very excited everyone is exploring Wonderopolis!!! Dec 4, Hello there, Wonderopolis! So nice of you to stop by! Stacy barbosa Dec 3, I love Wonderopolis.

It gives me all the information i want to know! We're happy we can share lots of information with you, Stacy! Lily Sep 16, Sep 16, May 31, Ayman May 2, Best website Best articles Thanks a lot. May 3, Thanks for stopping by!

Krishna Mar 29, Mar 31, Diana Feb 25, Feb 28, Hi, Diana! Feb 3, We are glad you enjoyed it, HannahM.! Thanks for stopping by and leaving us your comment! Subiksha Ganesh Feb 1, This wonder is really cool! I would like to know how many alphabets there were in the past long ago!!! Feb 2, Unknown Jan 27, The alphabet was probably invented since like Jan 28, Darreus Jan 26, It is very cool to learn about who invented the alphabet.

I'm glad we got the alphabet because if we didn't, how would we know how to spell? Jan 26, Bianca Maranan Jan 26, That's neat how the letters of the alphabet evolve over time. Hi, Bianca! We thought is was interesting, too! Abby Jan 20, Hi, I like this wonder because it gave specific numbers and examples. I would like to know if Roman Numerals are related to the roman alphabet, because in the wonder it said that the Latin alphabet is also called the Roman alphabet.

I thought that this wonder was helpful and interesting. Jan 21, BellaMonica Loci Jan 20, Bonjour wonderoplis! Je suis de Paris, France! Wow I didn't know that the alphabet was invented by no one only by centuries. Jan 20, We're glad you had fun exploring this Wonder! Luis Jan 14, That's a nice fact to know that no invented the alphabet. It evolved through thee centuries! Thanks Wonderopolis. Jan 14, We're glad you learned something new!

SurA Dec 6, My favorite part was when they found messages on cave walls! Dec 8, This is cool I always thought that someone invented the alphabet. Thank you for your help. Live TV. This Day In History. History Vault. Recommended for you. How the Troubles Began in Northern Ireland. Who invented the elevator? Who Is Cupid? This shift toward cheap portable mediums for storing symbols coincided with the spread of writing into the hands of more people for new purposes.

Gradually, as people began to write more on Papyrus, the symbols evolved to suit more rapid writing. This lead to a cursive script, known as Hieratic. For example, here is the world's oldest surviving surgical document.

It's written in Hieratic script, dated to around BC. These symbols were based on Hieroglyphics, however the pictures were simplified to match the swiftness of writing in ancient shorthand.

Also, the number of common symbols in use began to shrink down to around By escaping from the heavy medium of stone, thought gained lightness. A marked increase in writing by hand was accompanied by the secularization of writing, thought, and activity.

This lead to a new writing system called Demotic around BC, which was devised specifically to facilitate the ease of rapid writing. For example, this text is known as a marriage contract, and is one of the earliest known examples of Demotic script. It's interesting to notice that there was a dramatic reduction again in the total number of symbols with this new system, roughly 10 percent of the total number of symbols used before. This was due to a shift towards the use of phonetic symbols, or sound signs Brit: over word symbols, or meaning signs.

And the new simplicity meant that children could be taught to write at a young age. We see this same pattern in other cultures. Let's return back to 3, BC and visit Mesopotamia, where Cuneiform was the writing system originally used for fiscal purposes, as it was a powerful method of tracking debt and surplus commodities before the invention of coins.

For example, here is a document recording someone's stock of animal hides, and this type of writing evolved to suit other needs. For example, this tablet contains a recipe for bread and beer, and here's another tablet which contains a legal document.

Originally, the writing system was used by the Sumerians, and there were over 2, different symbols in use, which could also be divided into word signs and sound signs. Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language, and here is the earliest known dictionary from 2, BC. It contains word lists in Sumerian and Akkadian, and this was discovered in modern Syria.

When it was adapted by the Akkadians and fitted to their language, they reduced the number of symbols to around , and they did this again by moving towards sound signs. Again, we see both Hieroglyphics and Cuneiform using several hundred sound symbols in their more evolved forms, and as writing systems escaped their formal usage and spread to more and more people, the soil was ripe for the invention of a brand new writing system for the people.

One of the great discoveries in the history of writing is dated to around BC. The Sinai inscriptions were found in the Sinai peninsula, and they were about 20 feet apart.

This was important because each picture denotes a consonant sound, and no word signs are used. When sounded out correctly, the letters would produce words in ancient Semitic.