Western Civilization I / Unit 1 WC1 0011 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Cuneiform, Enheduanna, and Gilgamesh
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The idea
Writing appeared about three thousand B.C.E. for tax records. Cuneiform grew from pictographs into signs for syllables, then literature. Enheduanna, Sargon's daughter and high priestess at Ur, is the first author known by name.
In practice
Gilgamesh, Uruk's king, loses immortality to a serpent and returns a wiser ruler.
Where people slip
Enheduanna rests on the anchor alone; no witness names her. Gilgamesh's author is unknown.
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