Cuneiform was pressed into soft clay with a reed and then dried in the sun.

The longer version

A cut reed pressed into damp clay leaves a wedge-shaped impression, and a few quick strokes could build a whole sign. Clay was everywhere in the river plains, cheap, and easy to shape, so it became the standard writing surface even though it was heavy.

Tablets were often dried in the sun and kept as records, but fire could bake them hard, which is why so many survived when cities burned. Because the marks were made rather than drawn, scribes could work fast, and the script was adapted for several different languages over a long period.

Where this entry sits

This set looks at ancient civilizations, old inventions, trade routes, calendars, and the ordinary objects people once used every day. Nothing here is advice or opinion, just short notes about how daily life used to be organised long ago. The full list sits on the History page, where every entry is listed in order.