# The orgin of writing

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 24, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931 "2004-02-24T17:30:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![katiebz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/977dab/32.png) [@katiebz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katiebz)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931/1 "2004-02-24T17:30:43Z")

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I was watching a TV documentary on the Mayan culture and one of the points that was made is that Mayan writing is one of only 5 original writing systems in the world. Does anyone know what the other 4 are ? I was thinking things like Egyptian Hyroglyphics, Chinese characters etc. Am I thingking in the right direction? Any help in this matter would be appreciated.

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**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931/2 "2004-02-24T18:30:15Z")

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Writing almost certainly was developed independently in:

- Mesoamerica (the Maya, et al)
- China
- the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia

There is also evidence that it developed independently in:

- the Indus valley
- Egypt

… but that’s a more recent, slightly less established belief.  
I think the understanding of Mesopotamia is that writing evolved from simpler means of marking wrapped goods and representing said goods abstractly in that day’s equivalents of ledgers, ship’s/caravan’s manifests, bills of sale, etc.–so a mark in clay came to indicate wheat, which later became the symbol for wheat in extra-trade writings, etc.

In China, I believe it developed more from oracular works (the earliest written symbols are on oracle bones, etc., used for divination).

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**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\
**Post date:** [February 24, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931/3 "2004-02-24T19:35:46Z")

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I’m pretty sure that Sumerian (Mesopotamia) writing is the earliest recorded writing system in the world, and it did arise from merchants and bookkeeping. Sumerians did a lot of trading because of their strategic location between the Tigris and Euphrates, which were ancient thoroughfares.

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**Author:** ![Chairman\_Pow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/838e76/32.png) [@Chairman\_Pow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chairman_Pow)\
**Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-orgin-of-writing/230931/4 "2004-02-26T04:26:41Z")

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A fun cite for this is the Cartoon History of the Universe (1st collection, vols. 1-7), if anyone’s interested.