Cuneiform characters created by Sumerians are the oldest known characters. Cuneiform is used by many ancient civilizations to write their languages, but these languages do not necessarily belong to the same related language family. For example, the Hittites and the Persian Empire also used cuneiform, but both languages are Indo-European languages and have nothing to do with Sumerian.
In addition, Akkadians also use cuneiform as a writing tool, but Akkadians are very different from Sumerians. With the evolution of civilization, hieroglyphics gradually changed from changeable hieroglyphics to syllabic symbols.
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Traditional archaeologists and historians believe that cuneiform originated from the special fishing and hunting lifestyle in Mesopotamia. This is a general view, which is held by most encyclopedias in the west.
Some scholars hold different views that the origin of cuneiform characters is closely related to the developed social organizations in ancient Sumerian areas. The General History of the World compiled by the Academy of Sciences of the former Soviet Union holds this view.
When discussing the invention of cuneiform, the book wrote: "The greatest achievement of people's culture in the two river basins is the creation of characters. In the middle of 4000 BC, Sumerians had written embryos. For administrative management, organized communication is more needed, so the embryo of this text becomes a real text. "
Baidu Encyclopedia-Cuneiform