Mesopotamians wrote on soft clay tablets. Much of their writing, called cuneiform, still exists.
The story of civilization began in Mesopotamia, a plain in southwestern Asia. There, more than 50 centuries ago, cities rose, government developed, and great inventions—including writing—were made. The culture that was born there spread westward to Palestine, Greece, and Rome. From these Mediterranean lands it entered the mainstream of Western civilization.
Mesopotamia is part of the Fertile Crescent, an arc of land that extends from the Persian Gulf in the east to Egypt in…
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