The records that early civilizations left behind give us incredible insights into their daily lives, their understanding of the world around them, and their culture. The first culture to leave any form of writing behind was the Mesopotamians. Their pictographic language called cuneiform was written on clay tablets using a stylus made of dried reeds. Writing allows humans to express ideas across time and space. Ideas can be indirectly transmitted allowing for a broad dissemination of information and the cumulation of knowledge across generations and cultures. Read about human’s unique cognitive faculties.

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