Clay tablet

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/clay-tablet

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the material composition?Prepared clay, shaped into tablets and inscribed with a stylus
2. What is the preservation variability?Range from fragile sun-dried tablets to highly durable kiln-fired or fire-hardened examples
3. What are clay tablets and why were they important?Clay tablets were the first books made from mud. They let people write stories, laws, and keep records long before paper existed.
4. How did people write on clay tablets?Scribes used a reed stick to press tiny wedge-shaped marks into wet clay. After the clay dried or was fired, the writing stayed on the tablet.

Cuneiform Script: An ancient Mesopotamian writing system characterized by wedge-shaped impressions made on clay.