Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Irving Finkel lectures on Cuneiform, an ancient form of writing, dating all the way back to 5000 years ago.
More than five thousand years ago, a revolutionary script emerged in the fertile lands of Mesopotamia that would transform how people counted, governed, worshipped and told stories. This was cuneiform, the world’s earliest known writing system.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Irving Finkel to uncover how cuneiform actually worked and how you would write it yourself. From humble beginnings as simple pictograms tracking beer and grain, to the wedge-shaped signs that recorded myths, laws and epic tales long before the Bible, this episode explores how cuneiform spread across Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and Persia — and why these clay tablets remain one of archaeology’s richest windows into the ancient world.
Check out the Ancients YouTube channel here: youtu.be/bSnPrL1sAdg
00:00 Introduction
00:56 Dr Irving Finkel returns to the studio
01:19 Is cuneiform the oldest writing system in the world?
02:53 Which civilisations and languages used cuneiform?
07:07 Survival on clay tablets and monumental stone inscriptions
08:48 The Behistun Inscription: The Rosetta Stone of cuneiform
12:53 Why did ancient Mesopotamians write on clay?
15:54 What is proto-cuneiform, and why did writing emerge?
23:38 The evolution from pictographs to cuneiform wedges
32:23 How ancient bookkeeping shaped our modern time system
37:12 Dr Irving Finkel demonstrates how to write cuneiform
47:27 The regional dialects, libraries and control of the script
1:01:01 Understanding the multivalence and complexity of the signs
1:07:31 How long did cuneiform endure before extinction?
#AncientHistory #HistoryPodcast #Archaeology
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ/join
Irving Finkel lectures on Cuneiform, an ancient form of writing, dating all the way back to 5000 years ago.
More than five thousand years ago, a revolutionary script emerged in the fertile lands of Mesopotamia that would transform how people counted, governed, worshipped and told stories. This was cuneiform, the world’s earliest known writing system.
In this episode of The Ancients, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Irving Finkel to uncover how cuneiform actually worked and how you would write it yourself. From humble beginnings as simple pictograms tracking beer and grain, to the wedge-shaped signs that recorded myths, laws and epic tales long before the Bible, this episode explores how cuneiform spread across Sumer, Babylon, Assyria and Persia — and why these clay tablets remain one of archaeology’s richest windows into the ancient world.
Check out the Ancients YouTube channel here: youtu.be/bSnPrL1sAdg
00:00 Introduction
00:56 Dr Irving Finkel returns to the studio
01:19 Is cuneiform the oldest writing system in the world?
02:53 Which civilisations and languages used cuneiform?
07:07 Survival on clay tablets and monumental stone inscriptions
08:48 The Behistun Inscription: The Rosetta Stone of cuneiform
12:53 Why did ancient Mesopotamians write on clay?
15:54 What is proto-cuneiform, and why did writing emerge?
23:38 The evolution from pictographs to cuneiform wedges
32:23 How ancient bookkeeping shaped our modern time system
37:12 Dr Irving Finkel demonstrates how to write cuneiform
47:27 The regional dialects, libraries and control of the script
1:01:01 Understanding the multivalence and complexity of the signs
1:07:31 How long did cuneiform endure before extinction?
#AncientHistory #HistoryPodcast #Archaeology
You can now become a History Hit member right here on YouTube! Join for access to a new exclusive documentary every week, and access to over 160+ of our documentaries presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, Tristan Hughes, Mary Beard, Matt Lewis and more.
Get an exclusive release every week by signing up here: youtube.com/channel/UCZwU2G-KVl-P-O-B35chZOQ/join
