How Writing Is Important For The Creation Of Organized...

There is no doubt, that writing is one of the greatest innovations of all time. I would also argue that writing was essential for the creation of organized societies. Although languages have existed long before this great invention, writing offered a superior view in transferring even the most complex information of ideas, beliefs, and concepts from one person to another and to larger groups. The Bronze – Age is where writing first emerged. Pictograms, cuneiform tablets and hieroglyphs are just some of the very first forms of writings. In brief, pictograms, which later evolved into ideograms, used a pictorial symbol to convey a word or phrase. Cuneiform scripts used wedged-shaped characters impressed onto clay tablets. Lastly,†¦show more content†¦Cuneiform tablets allowed farmers to keep track of the quantity of produce cultivated and traded. The temples, which were usually the heads of certain civilizations, also used writing to control the flow of goods tha t were taken into and distributed out to its peoples. In a sense, this recording of information kept order in the city. It gave temple workers a purpose to continue their jobs and a clear understanding of what they would get in return for their efforts. Trade was not only enhanced within the city but with other distant territories as well. Several trade routes were formed and city-states began to turn into empires. One ancient trading port that formed near the Mediterranean was Ugarit. Ugarit was located in northern Syria (south of present day Turkey). The people of Ugarit spoke a Semitic language written in a cuneiform alphabet. Early writing systems assisted with the trade Ugarit had with other regions such as Cyprus and Egypt by writing down the transactions. Ugarit even developed its own alphabet – the Ugaritic alphabet. Throughout history, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin alphabets would later take some of the roots of the Ugaritic alphabet. Unquestionably, writing wa s a key part in the regulation of trade in the early city-states. Another important change in the political structure was the ability to write laws. Laws made governments much more organized, efficient, and manageable. It also allowed the thing we love paying today – taxes.