Before the invention of the Gutenberg printing press in Mainz, Germany, around 1440 AD, recognizable systems of writing had developed in three major ancient cultures: around 3000 BC Mesopotamian cuneiform featured in Sumerian, Akkadian and Elamite civilizations; Egyptian hieroglyphs began around 2800 BC and the precursor to Kanji Chinese emerged around 1800 BC. Codices largely […]