Ancient Writing
Thousands of years ago, the people of Mesopotamia invented a form of writing
called cuneiform. To write in cuneiform, they made wedge-shaped marks on a
damp, clay tablet. When the clay dried, the tablet formed a permanent record.
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Papyrus Scroll
Thousands of years before paper was invented, the Egyptians made a paper like material from
the papyrus plant. This papyrus scroll is part of the Book of the Dead, from ancient Egypt. The
English word paper comes from the word papyrus.
The ancient Egyptians had a complex system of writing known as hieroglyphics. This form of
writing looks like columns of little pictures. These picture-symbols are called hieroglyphs. Not
everyone could read hieroglyphs. Reading and writing was the job of special scholars called
scribes.
Scribes wrote in hieroglyphs on papyrus, a kind of paper made from reeds. This was some of the
world’s first writing! Pages of poems, songs, stories, math, science, and astronomy have all been
preserved.
The Egyptians invented a kind of picture writing called hieroglyphics. They also made papyrus, a
paper-like material, and they wrote some of the first books. Ancient Egypt is sometimes called
The Gift of the Nile.
Ancient Egyptian Writing
The ancient Egyptians used symbols called hieroglyphs to represent words.
They carved hieroglyphs into stone, as shown here, and painted them on a type
of paper made from the papyrus plant.
Wolfgang Kaehler/Corbis
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Babylonian Numbers
The markings on this clay tablet are mathematical symbols that were used by
the ancient Babylonian civilization. The Babylonian system of counting was
based on the number 60, much like the system we use today is based on the
number 10.
Scala/Art Resource, NY
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Maya Writing
The ancient Maya used pictures and symbols to represent ideas or combinations of sounds. This
form of writing is known as hieroglyphics. The Maya carved hieroglyphs into stone and wrote
them down in books, such as this one.
Maya Civilization
The ruins of spectacular stone cities still watch over parts of Mexico and Central America. A
Native American people called the Maya built these ancient cities more than 1,000 years ago.
The Maya created a brilliant civilization. They built massive stone pyramids and carved beautiful
sculptures. They made great advancements in astronomy and math. The Maya recorded their
history and discoveries using hieroglyphics, a form of picture writing.
PRINTING PRESS USING WOOD BLOCKS
Germany has produced great thinkers, composers, and artists. Johannes Gutenberg, for example,
invented the printing press around 1450. He made it possible to publish books. Afterward, more
and more people learned to read. A German priest, Martin Luther, broke away from the Roman
Catholic Church in 1512. The Protestant churches all grew out of the movement Luther started.
15-16
Johannes Gutenberg
German printer Johannes Gutenberg is credited with inventing the first printing
press in the 1400s. The printing press allowed books to be made cheaply, and
many more people could afford them.
Culver Pictures
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Invention of the Telephone
Inventions such as the telephone have changed the world. Alexander Graham Bell invented the
telephone in the mid-1870s. This photo shows an early model.
American inventor Thomas Edison did not invent the telephone. But he did try to improve it.
This Edison telephone dates from 1911.
Early Telephones
Early models of the telephone include an 1879 wall-mounted phone, left, a
candlestick design common in the 1920s and 1930s, center, and a 1937 “cradle”
telephone, right.
Dorling Kindersley
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Edison and Eastman with Camera
American inventor Thomas Edison, right, prepares a motion-picture camera
with George Eastman, founder of Eastman Kodak Company. Edison, with his
assistant William K. L. Dickson, invented the motion-picture camera.
Culver Pictures
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
In 1876, Edison set up a laboratory in Menlo Park. There, he improved the telephone so that it
could work over almost unlimited distances. He invented the first electric light bulb that was
good to use in people’s homes. He also made the first phonograph (record player) at his Menlo
Park laboratory.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Movie Projector
Movie projectors show 24 frames of film per second. The rapid change from
image to image tricks the brain into perceiving continuous motion.
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Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Telegraph
Before there were telephones, people could send each other short messages
called telegraphs. Telegraph machines sent messages through wires by using a
series of clicks in Morse code. The telegraph operator translated the code into a
message.
UPI/THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE/© Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Grace Hopper
American mathematician Grace Hopper was one of the pioneers of computer
programming. She helped develop two computer languages and made
computers easier for businesses to use.
Early Television
Some of the first televisions were built into huge cabinets, left. Popular early TV
shows included comedies like I Love Lucy, which aired from 1951 through
1957.
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Transistor Radio Components
Modern radios can be very small because of small electronic devices called
transistors. In this photograph, the six black rectangular objects are integrated
circuits, each of which contains hundreds of transistors.
Dorling Kindersley
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Cave Art
At 32,000 years old, these cave paintings from southeastern France are the
earliest examples of art ever found. The red and black paintings show various
animals and hunting scenes.
Ministere De La Culture/Liaison Agency
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.Dance probably has been
around about as long as people have. Cave paintings thousands of years old show what look like
dancing figures. Dancers appear in the art of ancient Egypt and Greece. Through dance, societies
asked their gods for good crops or bravery in battle.
Early Computers
The earliest computers were so big that they filled entire rooms! This picture
shows one of the first computers, UNIVAC I, which was invented in 1951.
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