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| The form of the signs also changed over time. Originally, pictographs were incised in clay using a sharp stylus. By the Jemdet Nasr phase, the sharp stylus was replaced by an angled stylus with a triangular tip. The result of pushing a stylus of this shape into wet clay is a wedge with a triangular shaped “head” and a long straight “tail.” The shape of these wedges provide the name we use for the writing system of Mesopotamia, “cuneiform,” Latin for wedge-shaped. As the use of the triangular stylus continued, the signs themselves became more and more abstracted into combinations of horizontal and vertical wedges that no longer bore much resemblance to their original forms. The range of sign forms used also decreased as the number of similar-looking signs reduced. | The form of the signs also changed over time. Originally, pictographs were incised in clay using a sharp stylus. By the Jemdet Nasr phase, the sharp stylus was replaced by an angled stylus with a triangular tip. The result of pushing a stylus of this shape into wet clay is a wedge with a triangular shaped “head” and a long straight “tail.” The shape of these wedges provide the name we use for the writing system of Mesopotamia, “cuneiform,” Latin for wedge-shaped. As the use of the triangular stylus continued, the signs themselves became more and more abstracted into combinations of horizontal and vertical wedges that no longer bore much resemblance to their original forms. The range of sign forms used also decreased as the number of similar-looking signs reduced. |
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| == References == | == References == |
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| *''Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka.'' Berlin: Mann. 17 volumes. 1946-2001 | //Ausgrabungen der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft in Uruk-Warka//. Berlin: Mann. 17 volumes. 1946-2001 |
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| *''Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte'' Mainz: Philipp von Zabern GmbH. 25 volumes. 1987-2003. | //Ausgrabungen in Uruk-Warka, Endberichte//. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern GmbH. 25 volumes. 1987-2003. |
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| *Boehmer, R. M. "Uruk-Warka." In ''Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,'' vol. 5, 294-298. New York: Oxford University, 1997. | Boehmer, R. M. Uruk-Warka In //Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East,// vol. 5, 294-298. New York: Oxford University, 1997. |
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| *Crawford, H. ''Sumer and the Sumerians.'' Cambridge: Cambridge, 1991. | Crawford, H. //Sumer and the Sumerians.// Cambridge: Cambridge, 1991. |
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| *Englund, R. K. "Texts From the Late Uruk Period." In ''Mesopotamien 1: Späturuk-Zeit und Frühdynastische Zeit.'' OBO 160, 15-233. Freiburg and Göttingen: Universitätsverlag and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. | Englund, R. K. Texts From the Late Uruk Period In //Mesopotamien 1: Späturuk-Zeit und Frühdynastische Zeit. OBO// 160, 15-233. Freiburg and Göttingen: Universitätsverlag and Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. |
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| *Nissen, H., P. Damerow, and R. K. Englund. ''Archaic Bookkeeping: Writing and Techniques of Economic Administration in the Ancient Near East.'' P. Larsen, trans. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1993 | Nissen, H., P. Damerow, and R. K. Englund. //Archaic Bookkeeping: Writing and Techniques of Economic Administration in the Ancient Near East.// P. Larsen, trans. Chicago: University of Chicago, 1993 |
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| *Postgate, J. N. ''Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History.'' London: Routledge, 1992. | Postgate, J. N. //Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History.// London: Routledge, 1992. |
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| *Roaf, M. ''The Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East.'' Oxford and New York: Facts on File, 1990. | Roaf, M. //The Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East.// Oxford and New York: Facts on File, 1990. |
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