When was history first recorded

No kings. It was a technology for regular people, not a megaphone for the powerful. Yes, as many of you point out, my viewpoint was white, male and hung up on fame and power and many of you have serious, and totally legitimate arguments with my assumptions.

But the thing is—those were my assumptions. They were wrong. I say so. This is a blog. And in the end, if you read the totality, my column and your responses, the story I wrote gets deeper and richer. You call me out on my assumptions, you offer some of your own, and what actually happened, what it was really like to be alive 5, years ago becomes… well, an argument among moderns about ancients that we will never meet.

I watched it. Kushim, meanwhile, survives. According to the blog Namespedia , it turns out that lots of Russian families call themselves Kushim to this day, and in the U. All rights reserved.

Share Tweet Email. Go Further. Animals Climate change is shrinking many Amazonian birds. Animals Wild Cities This wild African cat has adapted to life in a big city. Animals This frog mysteriously re-evolved a full set of teeth. Animals Wild Cities Wild parakeets have taken a liking to London.

Animals Wild Cities Morocco has 3 million stray dogs. Meet the people trying to help. Environment COP26 nears conclusion with mixed signals and frustration. You can't get any ealier than that. The tradition of recording significant events in "the history books" started with the Sumerians in Mesoptamia around BC or possibly, slightly earlier in Egypt but this is a more controversial theory. These cuneiform records are generally assumed to be accurate because they were found in the tombs of the people they refer to.

The cuneiform records were largely found in destroyed 'libraries' such as Ninevah's. The bulk of cuneiform documents translated to date are legal, religious and accounting records with a smattering of scribal instruction texts. And of course, the lists and annals. History requires analysis. None of these records analyse; but they are the basis of much later analysis. The earliest historical analysis we have is Greek. It is recorded in the sound of the background radiation of the universe; and it is scientifically verified, because it has been deduced that it must have happened and all sources indicate that it did, and when it did.

John Bennett, Glasgow, Scotland History - i. The first written texts that involved analysis of history as opposed to king lists and royal annals appeared before the classical Greek period. They're in the Old Testament. Simultaneously with the Greeks the Chinese developed an analytic historical tradition. Fragano Ledgister, Atlanta, USA The term 'scientifically verified' is very difficult to apply to history, which is by definition just the study of written records and not a 'hard' science.

The earliest 'historical' events are verified by archaeology, not written records. A historical event that has been verified by hard science is the supernove observed by the Chinese in and by Native Americans, but not recorded in writing that created the Crab Nebula. Calculations by astronomer have confirmed that the original Chinese observations.

The other markings on the tablet make note of how much beer was owed to a specific worker. While it may seem a little odd to our modern customs, paying workers with beer was sensible because it doubled as a food source because it was loaded with starches and nutrients. The Narmer Palette is widely believed to be one of the most valuable Egyptian artifacts, but has been hard to interpret since its discovery.

The palette is exquisitely crafted and still completely intact despite dating back to around — BCE. There have been many interpretations of what the hieroglyphs on the Narmer Palette represent and there is not a single agreed upon interpretation. Archaeologists do know that the palette makes reference to Narmer, a First Dynasty king of Ancient Egypt.

The hieroglyphics are some of the largest and oldest ever found and date back to the early era of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. The archaeologists also found an old carving of elephants that was created around — BCE. The four hieroglyphic signs are not quite as old as the elephant carving, but they date back to around BCE.

Archaeologists called the hieroglyphic carvings a billboard because they believe the writers were making a statement. The hieroglyphs are about 70 centimeters The artifacts contain what are believed to be the earliest known Egyptian writing. The hieroglyphs date to between — BCE and are the oldest recorded history discovered so far in the world.

The hieroglyphs were found in Tomb U-j, which is believed to hold the remains of Scorpion I, one of the first rulers of Ancient Egypt.

The bone and ivory tags were used as labels and provide information on the exchange of goods such as grains and fabrics. While this is the oldest Egyptian writing yet discovered, archaeologists know that Egyptian writing had been around much earlier , but none of those hieroglyphs, if they even still exist, have been found.