Just clay with some scribblings on it, right?
This is an antique clay tablet discovered in Uruk (Warka), southern Iraq, engraved with Cuneiform writing and three geometric rings carrying astronomical computations. It dates back all the way to the Babylonian era. That is the period roughly 2000 to 1600 years before Christ was born. Yep, 4 000 years ago! It is on display in the Iraqi Museum and the Babylonian Gallery.
Now think about this. 3400 to 4000 years ago, one or more astronomers were doing these calculations that the average Joe today can't do on either paper or a computer. It's pretty amazing.
How difficult could it be to grab a piece of clay, roll it flat, scribble some stuff on it, and order wife no. 37 of 85 - apparently some people had wives and concubines and affairs by the dozens back then - to chuck out the bread and bake the clay instead.
Certainly they wrote a lot back then, because a lot of it must have been destroyed in wars and natural disasters over the millenia, for some of those tablets to still be discovered today.
Something you write today, on paper or digitally, may be discovered 4000 years from now. People not understanding English at the time will try to decipher it. So you better write great shit to not waste their time. 😁
