Stele with inscription and protective deity to ward off evil spirits, undated copy of a photograph: Punctum, Bertram Kober
Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig
Back to the graphical presentation
1.600 BCE
Chinese writing is demonstrably used for the first time.1500 v. Chr.
invention of sheepskin, goatskin parchment in Mesopotamia (Iraq)1424 v. Chr.
The Chinese used carved woodblock stamps for personal signatures.
Roman gravestone for Quintus Sulpicius Maximus with Greek and Latin text, 94-100 AD, replica, photograph: Punctum, Bertram KoberGipsabguss-Sammlung des Antikenmuseums der Universität Leipzigcirca 1200 BCE.
The Phoenician consonant-based alphabet emerges.1184 v. Chr.
First chain of signal fires over a distance of 800km according to a report by Homer
Stone copy of the first Wu-Chu stone drum, pre-1914Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzigc. 800 BCE
The oldest recorded Chinese stone inscriptions are produced.
Portrait of Walther von der Vogelweide, the minstrel singer, from the Manesse Codex medieval songbook, circa 1300Universitätsbibliothek Heidelberg / Wikimedia Commons
King Assurbanipal on a lion hunt, relief from the palace of Assurbanipal II in Nineveh, photograph from 1900/1940Foto Marburg, Aufnahme-Nr. 1.000.007c. 650 B.C.
The library of King Assurbanipal is compiled in Nineveh.
Book composed of bound bamboo rods featuring a handwritten weapons directory from North China (Han dynasty) around 93 AD (reproduction)Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig6th century BCE
In China an early form of the book emerges with the first bamboo books.
Wax tablet, circa 1360Deutsches Buch- und Schriftmuseum der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek Leipzig5th century BCE
The Greek historian Herodot references the use of wax tablets as a written medium.