改写历史：失落的古文字或标志人类最早用文字记录语言

A lost ancient script could mark the moment humans first represented their speech with written words, discovers Colin Barras EARLY writing is a tale of two scripts. Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform both emerged independently about 5300 years ago. The political powers of ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia flourished in the centuries to come, partly because writing helped states control the flow of goods and consolidate power. The pen (or ancient stylus) was mightier than the sword. Or so the conventional story goes. But there is a glaring omission here because, at the dawn of writing, there weren’t two scripts. There were three. …