✍️ Arts/Lit Some Writing Systems Began as Pictures but Eventually Became Much More Abstract

[Beatriz9]

Early writing systems could use recognizable images to represent objects or concepts.

Over long periods, signs could change shape as people wrote them repeatedly and as writing materials and techniques changed.

Eventually, a symbol that originally resembled an object could become highly stylized.

This happened in several ancient writing traditions.

The result is that modern readers can look at an ancient character and see an abstract symbol even though its distant ancestor may have been a recognizable picture.

Writing isn't therefore a fixed invention.

Its visual appearance can evolve dramatically over centuries.

Some of today's most abstract-looking characters have surprisingly concrete origins.

© The British Museum