Trace the development of major ancient writing systems (cuneiform c. 3200 BCE → hieroglyphic c. 3100 BCE → Phoenician alphabet c. 1050 BCE → Greek alphabet c. 800 BCE → Latin alphabet c. 700 BCE) and analyze the relationship between writing systems and the kinds of societies and governments they make possible
Exercise
Difficulty 1
~3 min
hist.g6.f.ex_06
Matching
Prompt
Match each ancient writing system to its civilization of origin: (a) Cuneiform; (b) Hieroglyphics; (c) Phoenician alphabet; (d) Greek alphabet (added vowels); (e) Latin alphabet.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
matching
pairs
- a
- Sumer/Mesopotamia c. 3200 BCE
- b
- Egypt c. 3100 BCE
- c
- Phoenicia c. 1050 BCE
- d
- Greece c. 800 BCE
- e
- Rome c. 700 BCE
Hints
- Cuneiform is earliest.
- Phoenician alphabet diffused around the Mediterranean.
Misconceptions to watch
- Assuming the alphabet was 'invented' in Greece
- Treating all ancient scripts as 'alphabets'
Used in lessons