Writing Earliest use of writing was for ledgers, which led to symbols for fruit, frain, man, and ultimately hieroglyphics. Sumer 3,500 BCE Writing Earliest use of writing was for ledgers, which led to symbols for fruit, frain, man, and ultimately hieroglyphics. Built on Stone tools Led to CalendarLiteratureNumber systemCode of LawsRecorded medicinePhonetic alphabetCurrency (Coins)Realistic mapsVenus namedNon-geocentric theoryNew starBright cometsRosetta StoneFountain penPapyrus Stories Toward a Republic of Letters