Which writing system did the Sumerians develop around 3200 BCE?

• A. Hieroglyphs
• B. Alphabetic script
• C. Cuneiform
• D. Pictograms

Answer: (C)

Recording information for durable use was essential in ancient administrations. In Sumer, around 3200 BCE, scribes began pressing a reed into soft clay to leave wedge-shaped marks. These marks started as simplified pictures for goods and counts but soon grew into a flexible system that could express sounds, syllables, and ideas. This evolving set of signs is known as cuneiform. It became the standard writing method across Mesopotamia, used by different cultures for centuries and adapted to many languages.

Hieroglyphs come from Egypt and rely on picture-like symbols carved on monuments. Pictograms are simple pictures that convey ideas but aren’t the specific writing system developed by the Sumerians. An alphabetic script, which uses symbols for individual sounds, appears much later in history. Therefore, the writing system the Sumerians developed around 3200 BCE is cuneiform.