How The Alphabet Was Born

“An alphabetic writing system uses fewer than 30 signs, and people need only a few relatively simple reading rules that associate these signs with sounds. This great invention had far-reaching social and cultural implications. With the alphabet, writing broke out of the ‘golden cage’ of the professional scribal world. Writing was no longer their monopoly. When many more members of society could learn to read (and write), access to information and knowledge was no longer as limited as it had been. Alphabetic writing eventually gave many more people control over their lives and enabled larger segments of the population to take a more active role in the cultural and administrative affairs of their respective societies. But how was it done?… Time to find out!” w/ photos. LINK