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Writing Systems: Time‑Mapped – the Rise and Fall

From the first pictographs in Mesopotamia to modern alphabets, the film traces how writing was invented, transformed into alphabets, and spread across continents.

Chapters

• 0:07 Origins of Writing
• 1:43 Alphabetic Revolution
• 3:10 Classical and Asian Adaptations
• 4:10 Global Legacies

On-screen text

• 0:07 Origins of Writing
• 0:14 Origins of Writing
• 0:31 Uruk IV tablets – earliest pictographs Historical record · Uruk IV tablets, British Museum
• 0:49 Kish tablet – proto‑cuneiform Historical record · Kish tablet, Louvre
• 1:07 Narmer Palette – early hieroglyphs Historical record · Narmer Palette, Egyptian Museum, Cairo
• 1:16 Harappa seal – Indus script Historical record · Harappa seal, National Museum, New Delhi
• 1:34 Oracle bones – Shang divination Historical record · Oracle bones, Henan Museum, Anyang
• 1:43 Alphabetic Revolution
• 1:50 Alphabetic Revolution
• 2:07 Byblos abecedary – first alphabet Historical record · Byblos abecedary, National Museum of Beirut
• 2:25 Dipylon inscription – early Greek Historical record · Dipylon inscription, National Archaeological Museum, Athens
• 2:43 Etruscan alphabet – Greek influence Historical record · Etruscan alphabet tablets, Villa Giulia Museum, Rome
• 3:01 Lapis Niger – early Latin Historical record · Lapis Niger, Capitoline Museums, Rome
• 3:10 Classical and Asian Adaptations
• 3:17 Classical and Asian Adaptations
• 3:34 Behistun – trilingual decree Historical record · Behistun Inscription, UNESCO World Heritage
• 3:43 Ashokan edicts – Brahmi script Historical record · Ashokan edicts, Sarnath and other sites
• 4:01 Zabad – early Arabic Historical record · Zabad inscription, Museum of the Ancient Near East, Berlin
• 4:10 Global Legacies
• 4:17 Global Legacies
• 4:34 Hunminjeongeum – Hangul design Historical record · Hunminjeongeum Haerye, National Institute of Korean History
• 4:52 Copán Stela 31 – Maya date Historical record · Stela 31, Copán, Honduras
• 5:10 Ezana Stone – Ge'ez inscription Historical record · Ezana Stone, National Museum of Ethiopia

Sources

Historical record: Uruk IV tablets, British Museum · Kish tablet, Louvre · Narmer Palette, Egyptian Museum, Cairo · Harappa seal, National Museum, New Delhi · Oracle bones, Henan Museum, Anyang · Byblos abecedary, National Museum of Beirut · Dipylon inscription, National Archaeological Museum, Athens · Etruscan alphabet tablets, Villa Giulia Museum, Rome · Lapis Niger, Capitoline Museums, Rome · Behistun Inscription, UNESCO World Heritage · Ashokan edicts, Sarnath and other sites · Preslav Codex, National Library of Bulgaria · Zabad inscription, Museum of the Ancient Near East, Berlin · Hunminjeongeum Haerye, National Institute of Korean History · Stela 31, Copán, Honduras · Ezana Stone, National Museum of Ethiopia

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 74 s of CPU.