As of 2026-10-12, proto-Elamite script tops the list with 3,500 BC.
- #1 proto-Elamite script — 3,500 BC
script used for writing Elamite language in the early Bronze Age
The Proto-Elamite script is a writing system used briefly during the early Bronze Age before the introduction of Elamite cuneiform. It remains largely undeciphered, except for various numbers. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #2 Egyptian hieroglyphs — 3,200 BC
formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians
Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs or hieroglyphics were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. Cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood. The later hieratic and demotic Egyptian scripts were derived from hieroglyphic writing, as was the Proto-Sinaitic script that later evolved into the Phoenician... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #3 Egyptian hieratic — 3,000 BC
cursive writing system used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia
Hieratic is the name given to a cursive writing system used for Ancient Egyptian and the principal script used to write that language from its development in the third millennium BCE until the rise of Demotic in the mid-first millennium BCE. It was primarily written in ink with a reed brush on papyrus. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #4 Linear Elamite — 3,000 BC
writing system from Elam
Linear Elamite was a writing system used in Elam during the Bronze Age between c. 2300 and 1850 BCE, and known mainly from a few extant monumental inscriptions. It was used contemporaneously with Elamite cuneiform and records the Elamite language. The French archaeologist François Desset and his colleagues have argued that it is the oldest known purely phonographic writing system, although others, such as the linguist Michael Mäder, have argued that it is partly logographic. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #5 cuneiform — 3,000 BC
ancient writing system used for many languages, including Akkadian and Hittite
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the 1st century BC. Cuneiform scripts are marked by and named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions which form their signs. Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system and was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #6 Early Dynastic cuneiform — 2,551 BC
writing variant using a wedge-tipped stylus (2500 BCE - 100 CE)
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the 1st century BC. Cuneiform scripts are marked by and named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions which form their signs. Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system and was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #7 Sumero-Akkadian cuneiform — 2,251 BC
variant of cuneiform used for the Akkadian language
Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the 1st century BC. Cuneiform scripts are marked by and named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions which form their signs. Cuneiform is the earliest known writing system and was originally developed to write the Sumerian language of southern Mesopotamia. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #8 oracle bone script — 1,500 BC
precursor of Chinese characters
The oracle bone script is the oldest attested form of written Chinese, dating to the late 2nd millennium BC. Inscriptions were made by carving characters into oracle bones, usually either the shoulder bones of oxen or the plastrons of turtles. The writings themselves mainly record the results of official divinations carried out on behalf of the Late Shang royal family. These divinations took the form of scapulimancy where the oracle bones were exposed to flames, creating patterns of cracks... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #9 Chinese characters — 1,251 BC
logographic writing system with Han origin used in the Sinosphere for Chinese, Japanese, Korean and traditional Vietnamese languages
Chinese characters are logographs used to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture, including Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represent the only one that has remained in continuous use. Over a documented history spanning more than three millennia, the function, style, and means of writing characters have changed greatly. Unlike letters in alphabets that reflect the... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #10 Ba–Shu scripts — 901 BC
undeciphered scripts found in Sichuan
The Ba–Shu scripts are three undeciphered scripts found on bronzeware from the ancient kingdoms of Ba and Shu in the Sichuan Basin of southwestern China in the 5th and 4th centuries BC. Numerous signature seals have been found in Ba–Shu graves, suggesting that the states used written records, though none have been found. The known inscriptions are too few to be deciphered, or even to identify the language recorded. Read more on Wikipedia.
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