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Ancient African Writing Systems, First in the World


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The following was excerpted from "African Writing Systems – Where Do We Go From Here?" by Amenuti Narmer.  I discovered this article in the Blacknificent Life Newsletter, which you may subscribe to here.

 

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Ancient Africa has the world’s oldest and largest collection of ancient writing systems. Evidence of such dates to pre-historic time, and can be found in various regions of the continent. By contrast, continental Europe’s oldest writing, Greek, was not fully in use until c. 1400 BC (a clay tablet found in Iklaina, Greece) and is largely derived from an older African script called Proto-Sinaitic.

 

The oldest Asian writing, Proto-Cuneiform, dates to around 3000 BC (clay texts found at Jemdet Nasr). However, the oldest known African writing systems are several centuries older.

 

Proto Saharan (5000 – 3000 BC)

The ancient Proto-Saharan script was a logo syllabic system. The words used to write this script were monosyllabic. Perhaps the world’s oldest known form of writing and are inscriptions of what some archaeologists and linguists have termed, “Proto Saharan” near the Kharga oasis west of so-called “Nubia” that date to at least 5,000 BC. The writings under the image that looks like the Nilotic god Seth show similarities to later writing systems such as Tifinagh and Vai.

 

Nsbidi (5000 BC – present)

Nsibidi is an ancient script used to communicate in various languages in West Central Africa. Most notably used by the Uguakima and Ejagham (Ekoi) people of Nigeria and Cameroon, Nsibidi is also used by the nearby Ebe, Efik, Ibibio, Igbo, and Uyanga people.

The script is believed to date back to 5000 BC, but the oldest archaeological evidence ever found dates it to 2000 BC (monoliths in Ikom, Nigeria). Similar to the Kemetic Medu Neter, Nsibidi is a system of standardized pictographs. In fact, both Nsibidi and Medu Neter share several of the exact same characters.

 

Medu Neter or Ta Merrian “Hieroglyphs” (4000 BC – 600 AD)

 

Medu Neter Papyrus of Ani.The word Medu Neter (MDW W NTR) literally means “tongue of God” or more loosely, “God’s words.” The English word, “hieroglyphs,” is derived from the Greek word, “hieroglyphikos,” which means “sacred engraving,” similar to the basic meaning of “Medu Neter.” This script is an elaborate a logosyllabic writing system in which symbols represent either words (concepts) and consonantal phonetic sounds, or both, depending on the context.

 

The oldest known evidence for this writing system come from pre-dynastic pottery at Gerzeh (c. 4000 – 3500 BC; “Gerzean culture”), which is located about 100 miles south of Ha Ka Ptah (Giza), and from inscriptions found at Gebel Sheikh Suleiman (Wadi Halfa; 4000 – 3500 BC; “Nubian A-Group culture”) in so-called “Nubia.” The next oldest form of Medu Neter dates between 3300 and 3200 BC and found in Abdu (tomb of the so-called “Scorpion” suten in Abydos) on clay tablets that recorded oil and linen deliveries.

 

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Interesting hieroglyphics pictograms pictographs letters are very different ways of writing. Hieroglyphics pictograms and pictographs are more symbolic. Wheras letters are more abstract. However with letters the meanings are distinct from the signs that are used to display them. Symbolic languages are more poetic. The snil can take on multiple meanings. This has the effect of .asking the brain more flexible. One type of Sanskrit is Devanagari which means sacred writing or the writings of the Gods. Sanskrit and Hieroglyphics are magical languages. Some Sanskrit words have numerical values .

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