Changes

==Sumer==

==Sumer==

In the "fertile Crescent," which is modern-day Iraq, the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations developed a writing system known as cuneiform.  Cuneiform appears to have developed as a tallying system developed for commercial trade.  As the economy of the region diversified, it became necessary to keep track of transactions, as well as to write contracts and legal codes.   

In the "fertile crescent," which is modern-day Iraq, the Sumerian and Babylonian civilizations developed a writing system known as cuneiform.  Cuneiform appears to have developed as a tallying system developed for commercial trade.  As the economy of the region diversified, it became necessary to keep track of transactions, as well as to write contracts and legal codes.   

As the tallying system used by the early Sumerians became more complex, the cuneiform symbols began to represent individual sounds, which came from the first sound of the word they once represented.

As the tallying system used by the early Sumerians became more complex, the cuneiform symbols began to represent individual sounds, which came from the first sound of the word they once represented.