Writing materials in ancient Mesopotamia and Yemen: A comparative study, with clay as a model

Abstract

The research study entitled "Writing Materials in Ancient Mesopotamia and Yemen: A Comparative Study, with Clay as a Model" is a valuable study. It is through this medium that an ancient civilization, spanning many eras, has reached us, chronicling human life at that time. Clay was a source of writing in Mesopotamia and pre-Islamic Arabia. The ancient Iraqis relied heavily on it to record their artifacts and economic transactions, especially the imports of metals in ancient times. Cuneiform script was used, although writing began in the era of the ancient Sumerian civilization. A comparison reveals that Mesopotamia relied on soft clay for writing, found in the alluvial plain, while pre-Islamic Arabia used ink and engraving on wood, metal, and stone This is because the stone is harder and heavier, so the Arabs relied on it before Islam. We note that the triangular or pointed flag was used by the ancient Iraqis. As for the Arabs before Islam, they used chisels, charcoal, brushes, and other tools. The inscriptions were engraved, not painted. The forms of writing among the people of Mesopotamia were square, rectangular, disc, cylinder, spherical, triangular, and cone shapes. Each of these shapes had a special importance. The forms of writing among the Arabs before Islam were the huge inscriptions that they study, the official course, or the writing on the walls, which consisted of scratches on the surface of the rocks.