Archaeologists have made a stunning discovery of the world’s oldest known alphabetical writing, carved on finger-length clay cylinders found during excavations of a tomb in Syria.

The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Overseas Research. “Alphabetical writing changed the way people lived, how they thought, how they communicated,” said archaeologist Glenn Schwartz, who discovered the clay cylinder.

Experts say this form of writing likely revolutionized language because it was accessible to people beyond the social elite and royalty.

“Alphabets revolutionized writing by making it accessible to people beyond royalty and the social elite. Alphabetical writing changed the way people lived, the way they thought, the way they communicated,” Schwartz said in a press release.

“And this new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in a different place than we previously imagined,” he added.

Speaking about the lightly fired clay cylinders, which had alphabetical writing engraved on them, Dr Schwartz said: “And this new discovery shows that people were experimenting with new communication technologies much earlier and in a different place than we do. had imagined before. »

Based on the small perforations on the clay cylinders, scientists said they were most likely attached to another object.

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“Maybe they detail the contents of a ship, or maybe where the ship came from, or who it belonged to,” Dr. Schwartz explained.

“Without a way to translate the writing, we can only speculate,” he added. The researchers used carbon dating techniques to confirm that the tombs, objects and writings all date back to 2400 BC.

“Previously, scholars thought the alphabet was invented in or around Egypt sometime after 1900 BCE,” Dr. Schwartz said.

“But our artifacts are older and come from a different area on the map, suggesting that the alphabet might have a completely different origin story than we thought,” he added.

(With contribution from agencies)