Cuneiform is the ancient Sumerian/Babylonian form of writing. It's characterized by its wedge-shaped uh, shapes. Sumerian is perhaps the earliest known civilization. It is from them that we got the 60-unit system of numeration; ie. 60-second minute, 60-minute hour, 360-degree circle, etc.

I was almost jumping up and down when I came upon the tablet where a part of The Epic of Gilgamesh was inscribed (last picture). The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known epic. The other tablets are records of a sale of a house and other such everyday things.

This is the last of my Shanghai Museum series. By this time, my camera was already lying useless in my bag. Wang Jie, seeing my glee turned to frustration, lent me hers.