# Scientific American 2024: World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift Tag

> Scientific American, 2024. 5 records on Mysteries Department cite it. 22 November 2024 report on Schwartz's ASOR presentation, with the radiocarbon date…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJQ9VP421/worlds-oldest-alphabet-found-on-an-ancient-clay-gift-tag  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic)Scientific American 2024

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# World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift Tag

Scientific American, 2024.

**Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet** Article-magazine0

## What it's used for here

22 November 2024 report on Schwartz's ASOR presentation, with the radiocarbon date of about 2400 BC and the reactions of Philippa Steele (too few signs to know the system; resemblance may be coincidental), Silvia Ferrara and Christopher Rollston.

## Cited by on this site 5 records

[The Umm el-Marra inscribed clay cylinders](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/artifacts/ART0DEDT7N59F26/the-umm-el-marra-inscribed-clay-cylinders)

ART

[The cylinder signs resemble Early Alphabetic letter forms, and their position on the tomb floor under collapsed…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/evidence/EVD0DEEAYVVG4DQ/the-cylinder-signs-resemble-early-alphabetic-letter-forms)

Evidence

EVD

[Twelve signs of eight shapes cannot show whether a system is alphabetic, and nothing comparable is known for the next…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/evidence/EVD0DEEB12E7SF2/twelve-signs-of-eight-shapes-cannot-show-whether-a-system-is)

Evidence

EVD

[Glenn Schwartz presents the Umm el-Marra cylinders as alphabetic writing of about 2400 BC](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-sinaitic/events/EVT0DEDS39RRDQF/glenn-schwartz-presents-the-umm-el-marra-cylinders-as)

EVT

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

The mystery article

MYS

## Cite it

```
Scientific American (2024). World's Oldest Alphabet Found on an Ancient Clay Gift Tag. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/worlds-oldest-alphabet-discovered/
```

[Find it at scientificamerican.com](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/worlds-oldest-alphabet-discovered/)

Key

**SRC** 0DEDJQ9VP421

Kind

Article-magazine

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

31 Oct 2026, for editors

Added by

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

The record

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