Which known alphabet is the oldest?

Which known alphabet is the oldest?


Share Send to a friend Watch Report
 

Best Answer

 
17 thumbs up

Alphabet (a set of letters) is first found in hieroglyphs, in Egypt, around 2700 BC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_uniliteral_signs

Howerver, the oldest scripts found are the Sumerian cuneiform scripts, ~3000 BC, but there's no real Alphabet used there (signs are representing words and not letters)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script


Posted 1 year ago ( permalink )
Rated as
Best Answer
0
4

Helpful?

line
line
line


 

All Answers

Order by
 
468 thumbs up

If we are talking of actual alphabets and not pictograms such as hieroglyphics or cuneiform, then I would think that it is the Phoenecian alphabet. This alphabet although written from right to left was the precursor of the Greek alphabet (written from left to right) and later Cyrillic and Latin.


Posted 1 year ago ( permalink )
Rated as
#2 out of 5
0
3

Helpful?

line
line
line



 

Are you both talking about the alphabet found in Egypt by Dr Darnell from Yale? 

And which is the oldest writing system? They say that it's the Sumerian cuneiform in the Tigris and Euphrates Valley (present Iraq). It was pictographic until 1400BC.

But there are also some pottery fragments found in Pakistan (Harappa) dated back 5000 years that might refute that theory. 

I doubt Egypt carries the oldest treasures of human intelligence. Pakistan, India and China regions were always focused on the development of man's soul and knowledge rather than conquering and expanding the political borders therefore we should look for answers there.

 

 


Posted 1 year ago ( permalink )
Rated as
#3 out of 5
0
2

Helpful?

line
line
line



 

I would think the mesopatamian alphabet is the oldest. It was created in their "early days."But it also could have been China.


Posted 3 months ago ( permalink )
Rated as
#4 out of 5
0
0

Helpful?

line
line
line



 

was there alphabet prior to the hebrew alphabet?


Posted 2 months ago ( permalink )
Rated as
#5 out of 5
0
0

Helpful?

line
line
line



Sign in to participate

Got an answer for Agnieszka Sobkowiak? Would you like to comment on the posted answers, or vote for the one which you think is the best?

Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).

Explore Related Questions

Other people asked questions on similar topics, check out the answers they received:


How many people are in the world?

how many people are in the world?
Submitted by rantelem 1 year ago
  • viewed 1999 times

Last answer posted 1 year ago by OronD


How many people are in the world today?

how many people are in the world today?
Submitted by moemoshe 1 year ago
  • viewed 954 times

Last answer posted 1 year ago by Roee Rotman


What is it that we can really do to make the world ...

What is it that we can really do to make the world a better place to live in?
Submitted by pretty6 1 year ago
  • viewed 1026 times

Last answer posted 5 months ago by GUARDIANANGEL



» More...

Explore Related Posts in Forums