Cuneiform tablets

Clay tablets and bowls ready to dry

We have been learning about the first writing in our history lessons. We have already made Egyptian hieroglyphic scrolls (see previous post) so we thought we would try clay tablets.

We rolled out some air dry clay and used a sharp stick to cut the tablets to shape. Then we used the stick to inscribe our names with cuneiform letters. These letters are made from small lines and triangles and were used by the Sumerian people in Mesopotamia. There seem to be lots of different versions of the symbols. We used the version shown in our history spine text "Story of the World". We used up the spare clay to make thumb pots.

Clay cuneiform tablet by L

Clay cuneiform tablet by R

Next we are going to test what happens to each type of writing material (paper or clay) over time.