======== in English ========= A variety in the writing systems of the world provides an example of human ingenuity. What do you do when you have no bark like papyrus or bhoj-patra or palm-leaves to write on? Sumerians used clay, the most commonly available material in the treeless Sumeria! You may wonder that this is OK for seals like those from Indus, but not for writing in the normal sense. But this oldest writing system has provided a better documentation of the Sumerian society than any other, we may say. An example is the epic of Gilgamesh, whose âmanuscriptâ dated 2000 BCE is still extant.
The Sumerians were skilled in art, especially sculpture. They were also very inventive and were the first to use the arch and wheel, and developed a skillful number system based on 10's and 6's, the latter we use to divide circle and time. The Sumerians also had advanced knowledge of mathematics, medicine, and astronomy, and kept records of a lot of literature, including hymns, epic tales, and myths.
But any one looking at the script would hardly believe that it writing. I think it would be interesting to know about this system. Added to this is the exciting story of deciphering this script by an indomitable researcher.