2.2 Inventing Writing

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 1

AGE 2. The Time of Greeks and Romans

2.2 Inventing Writing

What is this lesson about?

Merchants in Sumer started to write down what they traded. The signs they used are called cuneiform and it was soon picked up by priests and people in surrounding countries. The Egyptians developed their own way of writing: hieroglyphs. Writing helps us to remember and to share knowledge. The invention of writing marks the end of prehistory and the start of history.

What you can explain /  do after this lesson

• that both the Sumerians and Egyptians were able to write, ending prehistory
• who were able to write in Egypt and Sumer
• explain why writing was developed and why this is an important invention

Word Duty

Rosetta Stone: tablet which was used to decipher Egyptian writing

Cuneiform: Sumerian way of writing with symbols and lines

Gilgamesh: legendary king of Uruk, whose adventures are written down in an epic

Hieroglyphs: Egyptian form of writing in which drawings are used instead of letters

Papyrus: plant, the stems of which were used to write on

Scribe: someone who writes as his job

Civil servant: someone who works for the government

Antiquity: time period in history during which people invented writing and the first civilisations arose

Link to WRTS wordlist for all the other difficult words: WRTS HISTORY

KEY WORDS

TIMELINE of this CHAPTER

1. Read "Unravelling an ancient secret".

a.
Who translated the hieroglyphs, according to the text?

1. Read the sticky note and answer the following question:

b.
Why is it not strange that the Rosetta stone was found by a Frenchman?

1. Study source 2.10. The Rosetta stone is written in three languages.

c.
Explain why this made it possible to decipher the stone.

www.historyforkids.net

1d. Use the website to find out when the Rosetta Stone was made and why it included a Greek text.

Teacher's Tip:

If a question asks you to "use the source" it is important that you do so. 

If the source is a picture, you can describe what you SEE. You can start your answer with: 

"In the source I see......", or: "The source shows...."

If the source is a text, you can copy a passage from that text. You can start your answer with:

"The source says:......."

Got it? Now use this to answer question 2a.

2. Read "The ancient Sumerians: the inventors of writing". Study source 2.11.

a.
Explain why it was useful for merchants to write.
Begin your answer with: "In the source you can see...."

2b. Explain what the first writing looked like and give an example.

2c. Explain what is meant by cuneiform. Use the text.

3. Imagine that you lived in ancient Sumer and that you had invented writing.

a.
How could you convince others of its usefulness? Think up two arguments. Use words like: useful, remember, list, show, product(s).

3. Compare your answer with three other students.

b.
Write down two arguments that differ from the ones that you found.

4. Read "Writers in ancient Egypt".

a.
What did the Egyptians write on?

4b. Which new profession emerged in Egypt?

(write down one word only)

4c. Where did rich Egyptian children learn how to write?

4d. Why would a family be proud if a young Egyptian learned to write?

Teacher's Tip:

If you need to write DIFFERENCES in your answer it is important that you ALWAYS mention BOTH things that you are comparing.

For example: What is the difference between a fish and a bird?

WRONG ANSWER: "a bird has feathers"

CORRECT ANSWER: " a bird has feathers and a fish has scales"

Got it? Now use this to answer question 4e.

4e. Think up two differences and a similarity between writing and learning to write in ancient Egypt, and the way we do that nowadays.

5a. Study these hieroglyphs. Some messages are written
on the temple wall. Can you decipher these?

5b. Study these hieroglyphs. Some messages are written
on the temple wall. Can you decipher these?

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

a.
sahilgmeg

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

b.
yphogrlsieh

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

c.
yruspap

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

d.
uitynqtia

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

e.
intivl cervas

6. The letters of the following key-words are all mixed up.
Write down the correct words.

f.
rimonfcue

7a. Which time period ended and which one began
when writing was discovered?

7b. Give three arguments from the book that teach us
why writing is important.

7c. Explain why we don’t know the thoughts of people in prehistory.

8. Study source 2.14 in "Why is writing so special?"

a.
Name a difference between hieroglyphic writing and the other writings.
(remember the "teacher's tip" about "differences"?)

8b. Which of the writings seems most useful to you?
Discuss your answer with your neighbour and write it down.


Begin your answer with: "The most useful one to me seems to be ...."

8. Four out of five arrows point at rivers on the map.

c.
Discuss with your neighbour and try to explain why most written sources are found close to rivers. Use the word civilisation in your answer.

9. In this exercise you will practise Skill 5: Recognising the
influence of the past.

Explain why the discovery of writing still influences the present.

Write down one question about something from this lesson that you find difficult.

congratulations