Clay tablet

Clay tablet

In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used to write things down, especially in cuneiform, during the Bronze Age and the Iron Age. People pressed special marks into wet clay with a tool called a stylus, often made from a plant called a reed (reed pen).

After writing, many tablets were left to dry in the sun or air, but they stayed delicate. Sometimes, tablets were fired in very hot kilns on purpose, or they became hard by accident if buildings caught fire. This helped them last a long time. These clay tablets were the first way people kept records, and they formed the basis of the very first libraries.

Many tablets found in the Middle East contain information, and many pieces of tablets have been discovered. In places like the Minoan and Mycenaean areas, most tablets were used to keep track of things, like money and goods. Some tablets were damaged by fires, while others stayed soft and break easily. Because of this, some groups are trying new ways to protect these old tablets.

Scribes (dub-sar)

In ancient Mesopotamia, people first used simple marks on clay to count things like sheep or grain. This helped them track trades in busy markets. Over time, these marks became pictures called pictographs on clay tablets.

Scribes, the people who wrote, used tools called styluses to make marks on wet clay. The tablets came in different colors, like white, brown, and dark gray. By around 4000 BCE, these pictures became more common. Later, the Sumerians developed a writing style called cuneiform, which used wedge-shaped marks. They could write everyday spoken words by 2500 BCE. Other places, like Ancient Egypt and China, also used picture-like writing, called hieroglyphs and characters.

Uses of clay tablets

Clay tablets were used to write many kinds of stories and information, like myths and important rules. They helped people remember great tales, such as the Epic of Gilgamesh, which told of a big flood. Clay tablets also held secrets like old recipes.

Later, writers began creating shorter stories and thinking deeply about life. One example is the story called the "Debate between bird and fish".

Communication

See also: Amarna letters

Clay tablets helped people send messages far away, like mail. Important messages were wrapped in extra clay to keep them safe. This way of sharing information lasted for over 3000 years and was used in many languages. The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Eblaites all had their own libraries of clay tablets.

History by region

Babylonia

Fragments of tablets with stories from the Epic of Gilgamesh have been found. They date back to between 1800 and 1600 BCE. A full version of this story was found on tablets from a later time.

Tablets with records of Babylonian astronomical records, like Enuma Anu Enlil and MUL.APIN, go back to around 1800 BCE. These records kept going until around 75 CE. Some tablets from the British Museum talk about when Halley's Comet appeared in 164 BCE and 87 BCE.