Creating Cuneiform Clay Tablets and Cylinder Seals
FOR OUR ALL-SCHOOL TECH FAST DAY
We decided to go way, way, way no tech, to the earliest known form of writing, CUNEIFORM from the Sumerian Civilization.
After examining a replica of a Babylonian school boy's practice tablet, the students created their own cuneiform tablet or cylinder seal. They used the earliest known complete alphabet system, called the Ugaritic alphabet, adopted and adapted from the ancient Sumerians. The 8th grade ancient history scholars used these fourteenth century BCE symbols to write a message about Mesopotamia on clay. They then translated another scribe's work. Ask an eighth grader why it was like reading license plates! They are not ready to give up their laptops.
