Explore the fascinating world of cuneiform writing in this 39-minute lecture by Irving Finkel, curator of cuneiform inscriptions at the British Museum. Delve into the origins of this ancient writing system, invented in Mesopotamia around the late fourth millennium BC. Discover how wedge-shaped marks pressed into soft clay with a reed stylus revolutionized human communication and made history possible. Learn about the complexities of cuneiform, including syllable writing and determinatives, and follow the journey of decoding this script through the work of scholars like Indiana Rawlinson and Reverend Edward Hinks. Uncover amazing secrets from over five thousand years ago, including the story behind Noah's ark, as Finkel shares insights from his extensive research and curatorial experience.
Overview
Syllabus
Intro
The first tablet
Form
Syllable Writing
Determinatives
Snags
Gaps
Writing system
Trilingual
Indiana Rawlinson
The Old Persian
Reverend Edward Hinks
Taught by
The Royal Institution
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Reviews
5.0 rating, based on 2 Class Central reviews
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great intro to the history of Cuneiform! entertaining too, not a boring lecture at all. I was hoping that the course was longer
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Peter BudaiAmazing on how in such little time as this course the most important is mentioned about the evolution of the cuneiforms and the discovery and decipherment of this old language is shown.
I studied some Hieroglyphic reading, and the amount of signs are huge, but also distinguishable because they all are different. With cuneiforms this seems not the way, as the symbols look the same.
Nevertheless, interesting materials are shown here, and surely a good base to know and to read more about this subject.
Peter
Belgium
