Jessica Gössl

Most historians agree that the earliest known writing system appeared in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq.

From around 3300 BCE, people in Mesopotamia began to inscribe clay tablets, pressing a reed stylus into moist clay in order to make characters.

Afterwards, the tablets were left to dry in the sun or sometimes fired in hot kilns, which made them more durable.

Over time, scribes developed a writing system that came to be known as Sumerian cuneiform, a name that refers to the distinctive wedge-shaped characters.

To begin with, writing seems to have mostly served a practical purpose,

It was used for things like record keeping.

For instance, a text from Uruk contains a list of city officials.

These include priests, legal professionals, and leader of the lambs, presumably an important job at the time.

Storytelling, of course, predates writing.

Humans have been inventing and sharing stories for many thousands of years.

But the invention of writing systems allowed for a new possibility.

Stories could now be recorded in a physical form, so they could be shared widely and preserved for future generations.

And this brings us to one of the earliest surviving literary works, the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Depending on how you define it, Gilgamesh might be considered the world's very first book.

The original poems date back to around 2100 BCE, about 4,000 years ago.

Like the other texts we've mentioned, the Epic of Gilgamesh comes from Mesopotamia, and it was written in cuneiform on a clay tablet.

But as reading material, it's certainly a lot more interesting than administrative lists.

It tells the story of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk, and his friendship with Enkidu.

It's an exciting tale of gods, battles, and adventures, but also a reflection of transience and mortality.

The Epic of Gilgamesh has a somewhat complicated history, as it exists in different versions on various clay tablets.