Archaeologists have found the oldest alphabetic writing of the world in a tomb in northern Syria.
According to Independent, researchers from Johns Hopkins University in the US discovered unearthed finger-length clay cylinders with the oldest known alphabetic writing from around 2400 BC.
Scientists believed that this form of writing may have revolutionized language by making it accessible to ordinary people.
The archaeologist behind the discovery of the clay cylinder, Glenn Schwartz, said, “Alphabetic writing changed the way people lived, how they thought, how they communicated… And this new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in a different location than we had imagined before now.”
Dr. Schwartz and his team studied how ancient cities grew in the Near East, particularly in Syria. The team has been taking part in the archaeological excavation at Tell Umm-el Marra, which is one of the first medium-sized ancient urban centers to pop up in western Syria, for 16 years.
The findings of the study about the origin and evolution of alphabets were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research.
Moreover, archaeologists have previously found ancient tombs from the Early Bronze Age between 3500 and 2000 BC from this site. One of the tombs was discovered with six bones, valuable jewelry, whole pots, cooking utensils, and even a spearhead.
