How Did Egypt Writing Influence Mesopotamian Writing

283 Words2 Pages
There are theories that Egyptian writing influenced Mesopotamian writing, however it is more plausible that they occurred at the same time. The earliest Mesopotamian writing is called proto-cuneiform. The name cuneiform comes from the Latin word cuneus for ‘wedge’ owing to the wedge-shaped style. Egyptian writing is called hieroglyphs and the name comes from the Greek word hiero for ‘holy’ and glypho for ‘writing’ because Herodotus and other Greeks thought the Egyptian hieroglyphs were elegant and something sacred, referring them as ‘holy writing’. Although there is evidence of proto-cuneiform and hieroglyphics occurring during the Predynastic period (ca. 3300-3200 BC), the evidence was shown to have different uses. Proto-cuneiform was found