The earliest writing we know of dates back to around 3000 BCE and was probably invented by theSumerians, who lived in major cities with centralized economies in what is now southern Iraq. The earliesttabletswith written inscriptions represent the work of administrators, perhaps of large temple institutions, recording the allocation of rations or the movement and storage of goods. Temple officials needed to keep records of the grain, sheep, and cattle entering or leaving their stores and farms, and it became impossible to rely on memory. So, an alternative method was required, and the very earliest texts were pictures of the items scribes needed to record (known as pictographs).
