# Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next…

> Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next 500 years.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/evidence/EVD0DEEB12E7SF2/twelve-signs-of-eight-shapes-cannot-show-whether-a-system-is  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic)Evidence

Evidence · Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet

# Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next…

Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next 500 years.

Suggestive0

## What it means

Key question[Are the Umm el-Marra clay cylinders of about 2400 BC alphabetic writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/questions/QST0DEDW8MZFBEA/are-the-umm-el-marra-clay-cylinders-of-about-2400-bc)

3 answers, none ahead yet

**Open** unchanged

Answer this evidence bears on[Alphabetic writing of c. 2400 BC (Schwartz)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/answers/ANS0DEDYNPG321Z/alphabetic-writing-of-c-2400-bc-schwartz)

Counts against1 for, 1 against

**Still possible** unchanged

## Next steps 1

1

Compare the eight Umm el-Marra sign shapes with Early Bronze Syrian potters' marks as a null model, alongside the Early Alphabetic forms.

~10 h

[On: Are the Umm el-Marra clay cylinders of about 2400 BC alphabetic writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/questions/QST0DEDW8MZFBEA/are-the-umm-el-marra-clay-cylinders-of-about-2400-bc)

**—** not judged

Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

## Sources 2

[Early Non-Cuneiform Writing? Third-Millennium BC Clay Cylinders from Umm el-Marra](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJP7MYCQW/early-non-cuneiform-writing-third-millennium-bc-clay)

Schwartz 2010

SRC

[World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift Tag](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJQ9VP421/worlds-oldest-alphabet-found-on-an-ancient-clay-gift-tag)

American 2024

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next… [Evidence EVD0DEEB12E7SF2]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEEB12E7SF2
```

Key

**EVD** 0DEEB12E7SF2

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Suggestive

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

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