In 2010, archaeologist Glenn Schwartz quietly suggested that the history of writing needs, well, rewriting. More than a decade later, he still thinks he's on to something. If he's right, the world's ...

An archaeological breakthrough to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research (ASOR) reveals that the oldest known examples of alphabetic writing have been ...

What appears to be evidence of the oldest alphabetic writing in human history is etched onto finger-length, clay cylinders excavated from a tomb in Syria by a team of Johns Hopkins University ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Archaeologists say they have uncovered evidence of what may be the ...

A recent archaeological discovery could overturn our understanding of the origins of alphabetic writing. Clay cylinders, dated to 2400 BCE, bear inscriptions that might represent the earliest traces ...

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. An alphabetic inscription written on a jar fragment found at the site of Tel Lachish in Israel ...

Clay objects roughly the size of fingers were discovered during a dig at the ancient city of Umm el-Marra. The engraved symbols may be part of the earliest known alphabet. Credit: Glenn Schwartz / ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

When it comes to the fruits of human genius the wheel gets a lot of credit as the most important invention in human history. If you roll the wheel to the side, however, the alphabet and different ways ...

In late November, speaking at an academic conference in Boston, veteran archaeologist Glenn Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University made a startling claim: Four tiny clay cylinder-shaped seals, which had ...

Most of the world’s languages are written alphabetically; in an alphabetic writing system the basic components represent sounds only without any reference to meaning. For example, the letter “b” in ...

Clay objects roughly the size of fingers were discovered during a dig at the ancient city of Umm el-Marra. The engraved symbols may be part of the earliest known alphabet. What appears to be evidence ...