Scribes (dubsars) appear shortly after the advent of writing c. 3400 BCE in Sumer. Writing develops as a way to keep trade and commerce records in the ancient world. Evidence of proto-writing goes back to the Upper Paleolithic period in Europe c. 35,000 BCE.
This is a companion article to Scribes & Writing - Ancient Mesopotamia
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The earliest widespread writing system is Sumerian cuneiform. Tablets of local clay make a surface to take the marks. A stylus is the tool which makes the marks. Reeds are plentiful in the Sumerian wetlands, and create the most common form of stylus.
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Stems of sedges are triangular and hollow reeds can be cut into shapes. Wedge shapes are also trimmed from the reed stem. Extensive written languages develop around the capacities of reed and clay.
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Cuneiform writing develops in Sumerian, Akkadian, Luwian and other languages from the ability of one reed to make thousands of impressions or combinations of impressions, depending how one cuts or turns the instrument.
Proper preparation of the clay is crucial. Clay is first soaked, pressed and hand-kneaded to get rid of air bubbles and blend the components. Natural oils in the hands contribute to the smoothness of the clay.
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Grit, air pockets or other inclusions in clay will cause writing errors and problems. Scribes are made aware of different types of clays, where they occur and how to prepare them. Air-dried clay can be soaked back to malleable form, kneaded and re-used.
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The clay master or scribe adds water to soften the clay, or dry clay to firm it up. Special tools such as scrapers give the surface a smooth even finish. Finer clay textures allow more detail in impressions. Pale clay might be colored with pigment such as red or yellow ochre.
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From c. 2000 BCE, the use of writing boards is evident Examples come from the Ulu Burun shipwreck in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as Assur (Assyria) and Nimrud in today's northern Iraq.
The boards are of wood or ivory. Two or more boards with frames are hinged together to form diptychs, triptychs, or polyptychs. These can fold for storage and open up to display the interior inscriptions.
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The sunken portion of each 'page' contains a layer of beeswax. Additives such as yellow ochre may be mixed in the wax. Both cuneiform and linear scripts are used on this surface. Wax boards inscribed in Luwian hieroglyphs have been discovered in Hittite Anatolia.
At the Hittite capital of Hattusa, types of bronze styli with pointed tip and a spatula at the back end are in common use in ancient times. Bronze and other metals can be warmed to write on hard wax. In Iron Age Syria, Anatolian hieroglyphs are still used on waxed boards.
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Two writing boards from Neo-Assyrian Nimrud (1st millennium BCE) still contain part of the wax layer. The wax is inscribed with cuneiform signs.
Scribes also learn to use papyrus, parchment and custom writing tablets. The scribe sits upright with the tablet on her or his lap. The tablet can be the wax board type, formed clay slab type, or papyrus.
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In Sumer, use of papyrus as a writing surface dates back to c. 3000 BCE or earlier, about the same time as clay tablets. Papyrus is best used for non-permanent types of writing because of its need for special humidity and temperature controls.
For the most part, clay is the preferred writing medium for centuries. It's abundant and the basic tools of the trade cost nothing. Although scribe schools are considered the domain of privileged young men, any woman or common man can learn to read and write.
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Like wax, clay can be pressed into molds and inscribed on one side, or made into thicker slabs for writing front and back. It's set to dry in the sun; or for more durability clay may be fired in kilns when the writing is finished.
Firing the clay tablets soon becomes a widespread practice as it hardens the clay better than air-drying. Humans have been firing clay since c. 29,000 BCE. The process helps preserve the literature of later cultures like the Eblaites.
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Unfired dry clay is more lightweight but less likely to be permanent. Air-dried clay tablets can be moistened, wiped clean of inscriptions and used again.
The reed stylus initially used is flexible and adaptable. As writing becomes a status symbol, makers use different stylus materials. Styli might be bone, ivory, alabaster, imported wood such as ebony or cedar; precious metals such as copper. Styli are often sold in sets.
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Although the profession of scribe first appears in Mesopotamia, as is common with innovations writing and scribal occupations develop throughout the known world independently, at about the same time. An exception is northern Europe.
In Europe, notational signs placed next to images of animals appear from the Upper Paleolithic in Europe c. 35,000 BCE. This is the earliest sign of proto-writing. Groups of symbols are used to convey hunting information and seasonal behavior of prey animals.
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Written language in the Northern realms doesn't emerge until c. 2nd century CE, about three thousand years after the first evidence of writing in Sumer. The earliest European writing takes the form of north Germanic runic inscriptions known as the Elder Futhark Runes.
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