Sumerian Cuneiform

Humanity's first writing system, invented in Uruk around 3500 BC. Originally an accounting tool for recording grain and livestock in temple storehouses, it evolved into wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay with a reed stylus. The Epic of Gilgamesh (humanity's first literature), the Code of Hammurabi (the world's first written law), and the prototype flood narrative were all recorded here. The Sumerians also invented the world's first school (edubba) alongside writing.