According to Professor Glenn Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University, the script dates from around 2400 B.C., making it roughly 500 years older than any other known alphabet.
A 4,400-year-old clay object discovered in the ancient city of Umm El Mara in Syria. The carved symbols may be part of the oldest known alphabet. Image credit: Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University.
“The alphabet revolutionized writing by making it accessible to people beyond royalty and social elites. Alphabet writing changed the way people lived, thought, and communicated.” said Professor Schwartz.
“And this new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies in different places much earlier than previously imagined.”
The letters of this alphabet are carved into finger-long clay cylinders excavated at Tell Um-el-Mara, one of the first medium-sized cities to emerge in western Syria.
In Umm El Mara, archaeologists have discovered tombs dating back to the early Bronze Age.
One of the best-preserved tombs contained six skeletons, gold and silver jewelry, cooking utensils, spear points, and intact ceramic vessels.
Next to the pottery, researchers found four lightly fired clay cylinders with letters that appeared to be an alphabet written on them.
A 4,400-year-old clay object discovered in the ancient city of Umm El Mara in Syria. Image credit: Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University.
“The cylinder had a hole in it, so we think it may have a string attached to another object that acts as a label,” Schwartz said.
“Perhaps there are details about what's inside the ship, or where it came from or who it belongs to.”
“We have no way to translate the text, so we can only guess.”
Scientists used carbon-14 dating techniques to confirm the age of the graves, artifacts and writings.
“Until now, scholars thought the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt sometime after 1900 BC,” Professor Schwartz said.
“But our artifacts are older and come from a different region on the map, suggesting the alphabet may have an entirely different origin story than we thought.” I am.”
Professor Schwartz presented the results of this research at a lecture today. 2024 American Society for Overseas Research (ASOR 2024) annual general meeting.
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Glenn M. Schwartz. An example of early alphabetic writing from Umm el-Mara, Syria, 24th century BC. ASOR 2024
Source: www.sci.news
