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Sumerian Significance
- Sumerians are credited with inventing writing, the wheel, and cities, placing them at civilization's roots.
- They are less known than other Bronze Age societies like Babylonia or Ancient Egypt.
Sumerian Discovery
- Sumerians were unknown until about 150 years ago, not mentioned in classical or biblical texts.
- Their discovery emerged from analyzing Assyrian and Babylonian texts.
Deciphering Cuneiform
- Edward Hincks, an Irish vicar, deciphered cuneiform's syllabic nature in 1846, recognizing the Semitic language of Assyrians and Babylonians.
- He later identified another underlying language, now known as Sumerian, with a different grammatical structure.