Were Egyptians the First Writers?
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Clay tablets uncovered in southern Egypt from the tomb of
a king named Scorpion may represent the earliest known writing by humankind,
an archaeologist said Tuesday. If confirmed, the discovery would rank among
the greatest ever in the search for the origins of the written word.
But the subject they mostly deal with may be of no surprise at all. It's
taxes.
Gunter Dreyer, head of the German Archaeological Institute, said the tablets
record linen and oil deliveries made about 5,300 years ago as tithe to King
Scorpion I.
He said the tablets have been carbon-dated with certainty to between 3300 B.C.
and 3200 B.C.
The discovery throws open for debate a widely held belief among historians
that the first people to write were the Sumerians of the Mesopotamian
civilization sometime before 3000 B.C. The exact date of Sumerian writing
remains in doubt.
The Egyptian writings -- in the form of line drawings of animals, plants and
mountains -- are the first evidence that hieroglyphics used by later-day
Pharaonic dynasties did not ``rise as Phoenix from the ashes'' but developed
gradually, Dreyer said.
``Linguists now have a larger history (of writing) to regard,'' he said.
One American archaeologist called the tablets an ``exciting'' find.
``This would be one of the greatest discoveries in the history of writing and
ancient Egyptian culture,'' Kent Weeks, professor of Egyptology at the
American University in Cairo, told The Associated Press.
But John Baines, a professor of Egyptology at Oxford University, was more
cautious.
``Undoubtedly, (Dreyer's) findings are very important, but I have an open mind
on this and would like to see'' more evidence on the comparative ages of the
Egyptian and Mesopotamian samples, Baines said in a telephone interview.
At this point, ``I would say it is likely that writing was invented in both
places,'' he said.
The bulk of Dreyer's discovery was from Scorpion's tomb in a cemetery in the
Suhag province, 300 miles south of Cairo.
Like many kings in pre-Pharaonic times, Scorpion took the name of an animal.
Records have been found of chieftains named Mouse, Falcon, Double Falcon and
Elephant before the first Pharaonic dynasty began in 2920 B.C. The Great
Pyramid was not built until nearly 400 years later.
Since 1985, Dreyer and his team have unearthed about 300 pieces of written
material on clay tablets barely bigger than postage stamps and clay jars and
vases with ink impressions.
Dreyer said the writings were not a creative outpouring, but the result
economic necessity: When chieftains expanded their areas of control they
needed to keep a record of taxes, which were paid in commodities.
Two-thirds of the tablets have been deciphered as accounts of linen and oil
delivered to King Scorpion in taxes, short notes, numbers, lists of kings'
names and names of institutions.
Although the records are made up of symbols, they are considered true writing
because each symbol stands for a consonant and makes up syllables.
For example, the city named Ba-set was written by putting together a throne,
known as Ba, and a stork, set. Similarly, Ju Gereh -- Mountain of Darkness, a
reference to its location in the west where the sun set -- was designated with
those symbols.
Fish, the word for delivery, appears on many tablets against the names of
settlements.
Apart from the academic question of who came first, Dreyer said, the writings
prove that the early Egyptian society was far more developed than previously
thought.
``In principle, they were able to express themselves clearly,'' he said.
