The Invention of Writing Before writing Act I

Transcription

1 The Invention of Writing Before writing Act I Characters: 2. King 3. Merchant 1 4. Merchant 2 5. Merchant 3 6. Merchant 4 7. Merchant 5 Narrator: The Sumerians made one of the greatest cultural advances in history. They were among the first people to create a written language. However, before the Sumerians, writing was very limited. You will now see a short scenario of what society would be like without writing. Merchant 1: Your highness, I have come here because India has asked that we trade some of our rich goods with them. King: Did we not recently trade with them? Merchant 2: Yes, sir. We traded with them about three weeks ago. King: I think it was more about a month ago. I asked one of you to keep track of the amount of times we trade with India and exactly what we trade with them. Did any of you actually do it? Merchant 3: Sir, it is hard to keep track of our many trades with different countries. I tried setting aside rocks for each time we traded, but I can t remember if I kept it up to date. Merchant 4: We have kept it up to date but it is impossible to keep track of the ALL the trading we do. Merchant 5: We must come up with a different way to maintain our records or we will never know what we have traded with others. Our trading business will go down if we do not solve this! Narrator: As you can see society without writing can get messy. There are no written records of what is being traded and when. Imagine living in a world where there was no writing. What would you do?

2 The Invention of Writing Earlier written communication Act II Characters: 2. Merchant 1 3. Merchant 2 4. Merchant 3 5. Merchant 4 6. King 7. Writer Narrator: Life without writing was very difficult. It was impossible to keep records of anything. You will now see a scene about earlier written communication system, pictographs. Merchant 1: Sir, we have all been working really hard to find a new way to keep track of our business. King: I like to hear that. What do you all have in mind? Merchant 2: Well, actually, we have made symbols of the many things we trade. We ve drawn wheat to represent grains. Merchant 3: So every time we would like to trade grains we will draw it on wet clay tablets to record. Merchant 4: We have many symbols we can use. We have created symbols for fish, heaven, birds, and water. Writer: I have tried this system before presenting it to you sir, and I can clarify that it works. After writing on the wet tablet with a sharp stylus, we must simply put it under the sun so it can dry. King: This is a great advancement! It will change our lives forever. We must teach others how to use this new invention. It is a great way to maintain a system of records. Narrator: With this advancement in writing, record keeping was easier. Clay tablets are durable and last thousands of years. The Invention of Writing

3 Characters: Cuneiform in Sumer Act III 2. Father 3. Son 4. Mother 5. Scribe 6. King 7. Merchant Narrator: Pictographs were the start of something epic to occur in Sumer. Writing was born as the Sumerians eventually replaced pictures with their own alphabet. You will now see a scene of how valuable writing was and the job of a scribe. (Scene 1: Father, mother, and son) Father: Son, you must go to school to learn how to read and write. Son: Father, I do not want to go. It is very difficult and boring. Mother: Son, we are very poor. If you go to school and use the tools that are given to you, we can move up in the social class. (Scene 2: King, scribe, and merchant) King: Please call the scribe in. Merchant: Yes, sir. Scribe: Good morning sir. What may I do for you? King: I have gathered you and the merchant here today because I need both of you to work together. You must keep track of the items we trade. Scribe & Merchant: Yes, sir. King: (Looks at scribe) you must also teach the young Sumerians how to read and write. If they do not keep this writing system, we will never progress. Scribe: Sir, I will create a place to gather the students of Sumer and will teach them our cuneiform system.

4 Characters: The Invention of Writing Writing today Act IV 1. Teacher 2. Student 1 3. Student 2 4. Student 3 5. Student 4 6. Student 5 7. Narrator Narrator: Without Sumerian achievements, writing would not exist today. Forms of communication would be very difficult. Even texting and school would be completely different. You are about to see a scene that shows how writing is used today. Teacher: Boys and girls in 2 minutes we will be going to the library to choose different books. Student 1: I am so excited to change my book! Reading this author has inspired me to write my own book. Student 2: I like movies better. I don t like writing. Student 3: You do know that movies are first written and then filmed right? Student 2: What do you mean? Student 4: That means that people have to write a script first. After they have reviewed the script several times and have agreed that it can turn out into a great movie, they begin to film. Student 2: I have so many ideas for a great movie! Student 3: Then maybe you should write some of the ideas down and try producing your own film. Student 2: I think I will! Narrator: One of the most important developments of humankind has been writing, but often people are unaware of how long and complicated this path has been. Thanks to the Sumerians who invented the world s first writing system, we are able to express ourselves through words. Writing in the beginning was mostly for business purposes, but today we can see it all around us.

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