What are cuneiform tablets?

Cuneiform tablets are ancient writing tools that helped people keep track of stories, recipes, and even shopping lists long ago.

Imagine you have a piece of clay, like the one you press your fingers into when you’re playing with dough. That’s what people used back then, clay tablets. They would write on them using a stylus, which is like a little stick with a pointy end, kind of like a pencil.

People pressed the stylus into the clay to make symbols, just like you might draw letters in the sand. These symbols were called cuneiform, "cunei" means "little wedges," and that’s what the marks looked like!

Once they finished writing, they would bake the tablet in the sun or in a fire, so it became hard and wouldn’t break easily.

People used cuneiform tablets to write about everything, from how much grain someone owed to another person, to the story of a hero. It was like having a super-powered sticky note that could last for thousands of years!