GUNS, GERMS AND STEEL - Cloverport Independent Schools

BLUEPRINTS AND BORROWED LETTERS • 221
An example of Babylonian cuneiform writing, derived ultimately from
Sumerian cuneiform.
with an additional phonetically interpreted sign (such as selecting the sign
for two, each, or peak).
Thus, Sumerian writing came to consist of a complex mixture of three
types of signs: logograms, referring to a whole word or name; phonetic
signs, used in effect for spelling syllables, letters, grammatical elements, or