Which statement accurately compares writing in ancient Sumer and ancient Egypt?

• A. The Sumerians used cuneiform and the Egyptians used hieroglyphics.
• B. The Sumerians used hieroglyphics and the Egyptians used cuneiform.
• C. Both used cuneiform.
• D. Both used hieroglyphics.

Answer: (A)

Writing systems in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt differ in form and use. The Sumerians developed cuneiform, a wedge-shaped script made by pressing a reed stylus into soft clay tablets. It started with pictographs and evolved into a versatile method for recording everything from transactions to laws and literature across Mesopotamian city-states. The Egyptians used hieroglyphics, a picture-based system carved on monuments and written on papyrus, with signs representing objects, ideas, or sounds and often featuring in monumental and religious texts. This distinction—Sumerians with cuneiform and Egyptians with hieroglyphics—best describes how each civilization wrote. The other options mix up the scripts or suggest both cultures used the same writing system, which isn’t accurate.