The Roman Alphabet | 7th century BC

What was the basis of the Roman uppercase alphabet?

A varient of the greek alphabet

What were the purposes of the formal and informal styles of lettering?

Formal: for important manuscript and official documents

Informal: for letters and routine types of wrighting.

Why is the Roman alphabet the most widely used and what contributions did it make?

Because it was spread by the romans, it’s simple and it makes sense.

From where did serifs originate?

From carving words into stone.

When and where did lowercase, or minuscule, letters develop?

When written carelessly in pen, letters became smaller and rounder.

What is a ligature and why were they utilized?

It is a character, letter, or type, such as æ, combining two or more letters. Ligatures were both a time and space saver.

Post an example of the Roman alphabet in visual form.

The Greek Alphabet | 800 BC

How did Greeks come in contact with the Phoenicians?

Phonecians regularly traveled to Greece and established trade agreements with them.

How was the Greek adaptation of the alphabet different from its predecessor?

They adapted the phonecian letterforms, and changed several of the consonants to vowels. Additional letters were also added.

Why is the Greek alphabet considered to be the world's first true alphabet?

It has given rise to many other alphabets.

Name several similarities and differences between the Greek and modern English alphabets?

Adapted letters, serifs, different scripts, the use of a baseline are used in the English alphebet, but were not used in the old greek alphabet.

Post an example of the Greek alphabet in visual form.

The Phoenician Alphabet | 1050 BC

The Phoenician alphabet is based on what principle?

the principal that one sign represents one spoken sound.

Describe the shape of the letters and what tool created them?

A stylus was used to create the angular, straight shaped letters.

What two reasons made the Phoenician alphabet so successful?

It was easy to learn and widely spread by Phoenician merchants.

What long term effects on the social structures of civilizations did the Phoenicians have with the creation of their alphabet?

It could be used in multiple languages, and also allowed common people to learn how to write. It disintegrated class divisions between royalty and common people.

An example of the Phoenician alphabet in visual form:

Hieroglyphics and the Egyptians | 3,000 BC

In the sixth century BC, what three civilizations invaded Egypt?

The Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans.

Post an example of the inside wall(s) of an Ancient Egyptian temple.

What was discovered on the inside of the temples?

Hieroglyphics were discovered on very wall and surface.

Scholars believe that Ancient Egyptians were inspired and influenced by which written language?

Cuneiform

What is the difference between logographic and alphabetic elements?

Logographic elements are visual symbols that represent ideas or objects. Alphabetic elements are more phonetic.

The term Hieroglyphic derived from what two Greek words?

Heiro: sacred

Glyphic: engraving or writing

What is a scribe?

Students who went to scribe school to learn how to read and write.

Who else was trained to read and write? Why?

Military leaders so they could communicate while in battle.

Post an example of hieroglyphics on papyrus.

What is papyrus and how was it made?

A substrate made from weeds native to Egypt. To make it, wet reeds are placed criss-cross over each other, flattened and dried. Then rubbed with flat stones until the surface becomes smooth.

What is a substrate?

Material to write on.

What were the Books of the Dead?

Scrolls for pharaohs and other important Egyptians that contained instructions and spells to help them get to the afterlife.

How did Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics become a forgotten language?

The Greeks and Romans did not continue use of it, and eventually those who did died out.

Post an example of the Rosetta Stone.

What is the Rosetta Stone? Where was it discovered?

A Stone used to decipher hieroglyphics. It was discovered in Rosetta on a slab of stone.

What three languages are included on the stone?

Egyptian hieroglyphics, demonic, and Greek.

Why couldn't the text on the Stone be deciphered?

A chunk of the stone was missing, and none of the three texts were complete.

Who finally deciphered the text? What was his breakthrough?

Jean Francois Champollion, he was able to match up the hieroglyphics with the Greek version of the name of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramses.

Why does the interpretation of the Rosetta Stone have such significance?

 Because we now have a lot more information about Egyptians and their hieroglyphics.

Cuneiform and the Sumerians | 3,000 BC

The Sumerians were one of the earliest types of this kind of civilization? What does that mean?

Nomadic civilization. That means they migrated to Sumer.

Why is the region of Sumer considered the Cradle of Civilization?

Because it was where cuneiform, the worlds first written language, was created.

What could the Sumerians practice year round because of the regions climate? agriculture

Post an example of early Cuneiform (Sumerian pictograph).

 

Why was Cuneiform created?

 It was created because Sumerians needed a way to keep track of their prosperities and business transactions.

What medium was used to "write" Cuneiform? Explain the process of preparing and writing on this surface? 

Clay tablets. To make them, first they’d wet the clay then form it into flat surfaces. And use a wedge shaped stylus made from reeds to make impressions into the clay surface. Then they’d lat it out in the sun and allow the clay to dry and harden.

What did Cuneiform begin as a series of? Pictographs.

Post an example of evolved Cuneiform (wedge-shaped).

After it evolved over time, what shape did the characters of Cuneiform evolve into?

Wedges

Post an example of Akkadian Cuneiform.

After the Akkadians conquered, what happened to the Sumerian culture and written language?

The Akkadians adopted it.

What is a pictograph? A pictorial or visual representation of an object.

Why did the creation of Cuneiform allow the Sumerians to become a sophisticated culture? It allowed Sumerians to keep records and such.