The Oldest Written Text in the World Is 5,500 Years Old
Nestled in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia, Sumer stands as the earliest known civilization. It’s no surprise, then, that the oldest written text can be traced back to Kish, an ancient Sumerian city in modern Tell al-Uhaymir, Iraq. Named after the location of its discovery, the Kish Tablet dates back to the Uruk period (c. 3500–3200 BCE), and features proto-cuneiform signs. Proto-cuneiform emerged in Mesopotamia and was largely rooted within a pictographic system.