It’s important to use the right words when writing about writing. Scholars studying the history of it distinguish between pre-writing symbols used to mark objects and more precise marks that establish ...

The first volumes of the dictionary were published in the 1950s A dictionary of the extinct language of ancient Mesopotamia has been completed after 90 years of work. Assyrian and Babylonian - ...

Gonzalo Rubio spends his days reading dead languages that haven't been spoken for thousands of years. An assyriologist at Pennsylvania State University, Rubio studies the world's very first written ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. SAN FRANCISCO — A 200-year-long drought 4,200 years ago may have killed off the ancient Sumerian ...

Researchers from the University of Bologna have unveiled how ancient cylinder seals played a key role in the development of writing in ancient Mesopotamia, marking a significant breakthrough in ...

The University’s recently completed reference work to a dead Mesopotamian language has a lively following. The response has pleased Martha T. Roth, editor-in-charge of the Assyrian Dictionary. A ...

Picture writing was invented in Mesopotamia before 3,000 BC. This clay tablet, dating to about 3,100 BC, has written on it a list of rations. It shows how writing was developing from using pictures to ...

It’s one of the greatest mysteries of the ancient world: which languages did the people of the Indus Valley Civilisation speak? Existing in the Bronze age, the Indus hosted the largest such ...

A 200-year-long drought 4,200 years ago may have killed off the ancient Sumerian language, one geologist says. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and ...