Koller Tag

Sinai 345, a small sphinx from Serabit el-Khadim. Note the hieroglyphs on the right flank of the sphinx, and the alphabetic writing along the base. Photo by Onceinawhile / Wikimedia, CC By-SA 4.0

January 14, 2020

By ANE Today Editor

Language & Writing

The Alphabet: The First Thousand Years

The alphabet is probably the most important information technology ever invented. Why did it take a millennium to spread unevenly around the ancient Near East?