The Development of Writing Class 11 – Concept, MCQs & Notes PDF

Topic covered: The Development of Writing class 11 notes and MCQs questions: Writing and City Life (All single detail notes are exam-oriented).

We have discussed in-depth and exam-oriented pointers that can be asked in the board exam of class 11th about “The Development of Writing“ from the NCERT history notes for class 11th chapter 1 Writing and City Life.

Download the NCERT History for Class 11th Chapter 1 Writing and City Life Notes PDF

Chapter 1 of Class 11 History, Writing and City Life, takes you into the early world of Mesopotamia, where writing first appeared, and cities began to shape human life in new ways. Students often find the connection between trade, administration, and the development of writing a bit overwhelming, so these notes break everything into clear, story-like sections. You’ll understand how cities grew, why records became essential, and how everyday life looked in the earliest civilisations. If you want a simple, exam-friendly guide, you can download the NCERT History for Class 11th Chapter 1 Writing and City Life Notes PDF and revise with ease.

The Development of Writing

1. Nature of Communication:

• All societies use languages where spoken sounds carry meaning.
• This form is verbal communication.
• Writing is also verbal communication, but it represents spoken sounds through visible signs.

2. Earliest Mesopotamian Writing:

• The first tablets appeared around 3200 BCE.
• They had picture-like signs and numbers.
• These tablets contained about 5,000 lists of items such as oxen, fish, and bread loaves.
• Lists recorded goods entering or being distributed from the temples of Uruk.
• Writing emerged because society needed to keep records of transactions.
• Transactions involved different times, many people, and varied goods, making written records necessary in cities.

3. Material and Method of Writing:

• Mesopotamians wrote on clay tablets.
• A scribe wet clay, shaped it to a comfortable size, and smoothened its surface.
• He used the sharp, obliquely cut end of a reed to press wedge-shaped signs.
• These wedge-shaped signs are known as cuneiform.
• Once dried in the sun, the tablet became as hard as pottery.

4. Use and Disposal of Tablets:

• Tablets were thrown away once a record was no longer needed.
• After drying, a tablet could not be reused because new signs could not be pressed on it.
• Every transaction, even minor ones, needed a separate tablet.
• This is why hundreds of tablets are found at Mesopotamian sites.
• This large number of written sources is why we know more about Mesopotamia than contemporary India.

5. Development of Script and Language:

• By around 2600 BCE, writing became fully cuneiform.
• The language of these tablets was Sumerian.
• Writing expanded from record-keeping to:
  • Making dictionaries
  • Giving legal validity to land transfers
  • Narrating deeds of kings
  • Announcing changes in customary laws

6. Shift in Language:

• After 2400 BCE, Akkadian replaced Sumerian.
• Cuneiform in Akkadian continued until the first century CE.
• This means the script was in use for over 2,000 years.

Summary of The Development of Writing Class 11 Notes

Writing in Mesopotamia began as a practical solution for record-keeping in growing cities where goods moved in and out of temples and needed to be tracked accurately. The earliest tablets from around 3200 BCE used picture-like signs to list items such as oxen, fish, or bread. Scribes wrote on moist clay tablets, smoothing the surface and pressing wedge-shaped marks with a cut reed. Once dried, each tablet became permanent, which is why thousands survive today. Over time, the script evolved into cuneiform, first in the Sumerian language and later in Akkadian after 2400 BCE. What started as simple accounting expanded into dictionaries, legal documents, royal deeds, and announcements of new laws. Cuneiform remained in use for more than two millennia, giving us an unusually detailed view of Mesopotamian life compared to other ancient regions.

Next & Previous Topics of NCERT/CBSE History Class 11 Chapter 1: Writing and City Life

MCQs on NCERT History Class 11 Chapter 1 Topic – The Development of Writing Class 11 Notes

Here are the top exam-oriented MCQ-type questions on “The Development of Writing Class 11 Notes” that you should prepare for your CBSE or state board exams:

Question 1. Writing is described as

a) Non-verbal communication
b) Verbal communication represented through visible signs
c) Visual communication only
d) A form of art

Answer: b

Question 2. The earliest Mesopotamian tablets were written around

a) 5000 BCE
b) 4000 BCE
c) 3200 BCE
d) 2600 BCE

Answer: c

Question 3. The first tablets mainly contained

a) Religious hymns
b) Laws and rules
c) Picture-like signs and numbers
d) Poems and stories

Answer: c

Question 4. Most early tablets were lists of

a) Soldiers and taxes
b) Oxen, fish, bread loaves
c) Cities and rulers
d) Stars and planets

Answer: b

Question 5. These early records belonged to the temples of

a) Kish
b) Uruk
c) Babylon
d) Nineveh

Answer: b

Question 6. Writing began because society needed

a) Religious texts
b) Decoration on pottery
c) To keep records of transactions
d) To communicate with other cities

Answer: c

Question 7. The Mesopotamians wrote on

a) Cloth
b) Stone
c) Clay tablets
d) Leather sheets

Answer: c

Question 8. A scribe shaped a tablet by

a) Baking clay directly
b) Wetting clay and patting it into a small size
c) Moulding stone blocks
d) Using wooden frames

Answer: b

Question 9. The writing tool was made of

a) Metal
b) Bone
c) A reed cut obliquely
d) Wood

Answer: c

Question 10. The wedge-shaped signs are known as

a) Hieroglyphs
b) Linear script
c) Cuneiform
d) Pictograms

Answer: c

Question 11. Once dried in the sun, clay tablets became

a) Fragile
b) Soft
c) Hard like pottery
d) Too heavy to store

Answer: c

Question 12. One tablet was needed for each transaction because

a) Tablet space was huge
b) Dried surfaces could not be rewritten
c) Scribal rules demanded new tablets
d) Clay was expensive

Answer: b

Question 13. Thousands of tablets survive because

a) They were buried deliberately
b) They were reusable
c) Tablets were very durable
d) Temples preserved them carefully

Answer: c

Question 14. We know more about Mesopotamia than contemporary India, mainly because

a) They had more rulers
b) Climate preserved their buildings
c) Thousands of written tablets survived
d) Foreign travellers wrote about them

Answer: c

Question 15. Around 2600 BCE, writing became fully

a) Alphabetic
b) Cuneiform
c) Pictographic
d) Hieroglyphic

Answer: b

Question 16. The earliest known language of Mesopotamia was

a) Akkadian
b) Assyrian
c) Sumerian
d) Aramaic

Answer: c

Question 17. Writing later expanded to include

a) Only religious texts
b) Only personal letters
c) Dictionaries, land deeds, royal deeds, law changes
d) Only poetry

Answer: c

Question 18. Sumerian began to be replaced after 2400 BCE by

a) Greek
b) Acadian
c) Akkadian
d) Persian

Answer: c

Question 19. Akkadian cuneiform continued in use until

a) 500 BCE
b) First century CE
c) 1000 CE
d) 1500 CE

Answer: b

Question 20. The total duration for which cuneiform writing was used is approximately

a) 1000 years
b) 1500 years
c) 2000 years
d) More than 2000 years

Answer: d