Sales contract inscribed on a clay tablet using pre-cuneiform script

Writing changed memory itself

In oral societies, most knowledge moved through stories and sayings. Writing changed that by creating stable records that no longer depended on imperfect human memory.

Communication: The Technologies That Rewired Human Life

Close-up of intricate ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs etched on a stone wall in Berlin.

Early writing looked like pictures

Many early systems used pictograms. You still see the same idea today in no-smoking signs and bathroom icons.

Communication: The Technologies That Rewired Human Life

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