Cuneiform is the first system of writing. It was developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. The name comes from the Latin word cuneus, which means ‘wedge’. In cuneiform, a writing tool known as a stylus is pressed into clay to produce wedge-like shapes that represent words.
A tried-and-true activity for a lesson on cuneiform is to make cuneiform tablets with soft clay and a pencil – see a great example from Inspired Class here.
Here’s a version of this activity adapted for remote learning. Students will write cuneiform messages in their browser with the help of a cuneiform alphabet. They can even download their work to share or hand in!
