What is the oldest sentence ever written?

Asked by: Betty Cormier  |  Last update: March 22, 2025
Score: 4.3/5 (19 votes)

The inscription on the ancient ivory comb, dated to 1,700 B.C.E., reading “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard” in the Canaanite alphabet, the oldest known sentence written using an alphabet.

What was the first sentence ever said?

Believed to be the oldest known sentence written in the earliest alphabet, the inscription on the luxury item reads: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

What is the longest sentence ever written?

In the "Molly's Monologue" section of the work, you can find the sentence which runs 4,391 words long. However, Jonathan Coe's The Rotter's Club currently holds the record with a single sentence that is 13,955 words long. And yes, that sentence in Coe's book is grammatically correct, loosely speaking.

What is the oldest written thing in history?

The first writing? The earliest confirmed form of writing is recorded on a limestone tablet, known as the Kish tablet, which dates to around 3,500 BCE. The tablet was found on the site of an ancient Sumerian city called Kish, which is located in modern-day Iraq.

What is the oldest letter in the world?

The oldest letter is the letter "O", which we still use today. This letter appeared in the Finnish alphabet about 1,300 years ago, and it is used in almost 65 of the world alphabets.

First sentence ever written in Canaanite language discovered in Israel

19 related questions found

What is the rarest letter ever?

In dictionaries, j, q, and z are found the least, but some of the words are rarely used. And if you value the opinion of cryptologists (people who study secret codes and communication), x, q, and z make the fewest appearances in the writing scene.

What is the oldest piece of human history?

The Sumerian archaic cuneiform script and the Egyptian hieroglyphs are generally considered the earliest writing systems, both emerging out of their ancestral proto-literate symbol systems from 3400 to 3200 BCE, with earliest coherent texts from about 2600 BCE.

What is the oldest thing in history?

Oldest Known Material

Discovered in 2001 on a sheep ranch in a part of Western Australia known as the Jack Hills, this ancient zircon crystal is the oldest known material formed on Earth. Scientists say they've dated the ancient crystal to about 4.4 billion years ago.

Was there writing 10,000 years ago?

Historically, most proto-writing systems did not produce writing systems; the earliest writing dates to the Early Bronze Age (3300–2100 BC), but proto-writing is attested as early as the 7th millennium BC.

What is the oldest signature in the world?

What might be considered the oldest "autograph" is a Sumerian clay table from about 3100 BC which includes the name of the scribe Gar. Ama. No ancient written autographs have been found, and the earliest one known for a major historical figure is that of El Cid from 1098.

What sentence has 13955 words?

A copy of “Ulysses” pops up in “Green Coaster,” the 33-page, single-sentence section that closes Jonathan Coe's brilliant novel “The Rotters' Club” (2001). (The BBC has reported that at 13,955 words, it is the longest sentence ever written in English.)

What is the shortest sentence in the world?

The sentence 'I am' has both- the subject- I and Predicate- am. It also expresses a complete thought. So 'I am' is the shortest sentence.

What's the longest jail sentence ever?

Longest Jail Sentence

One of the most striking examples of an incredibly long sentence is the case of Chamoy Thipyaso, a Thai woman who, in 1989, was sentenced to an astounding 141,078 years for corporate fraud related to a pyramid scheme.

What is the oldest sentence in history?

The oldest decipherable full sentence in an alphabet ever found, dated to 1,700 B.C.E., is inscribed on a tiny ivory comb unearthed in 2016 at the Tel Lachish archeological site in central Israel. The faint letters read: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”

What was the shortest sentence ever given?

Consequently, Munch was sentenced to an imprisonment of one minute, a sentence so surprising to Munch that after the second-hand completed the circle of 60 seconds, he decided the best thing for him to do is to get away for fear of a heavier penalty. Leading to the shortest jail sentence ever given.

What is the first two word sentence?

Using two-word phrases is a 24 month communication milestone. Two-word phrases may begin to emerge around 18-21 months, but are used more frequently by 24 months. Before baby starts making two-word phrases, they'll need to expand their vocabulary and understanding of language.

What happened in 9000 years ago?

9000 BC: Earliest date recorded for construction of temenoi ceremonial structures at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, as possibly the oldest surviving proto-religious site on Earth. 9000 BC: Giant short-faced bears and giant ground sloths go extinct. Equidae goes extinct in North America.

Did books exist 1,000 years ago?

Early manuscripts. In ancient times, stone slabs had been used for writing. The oldest surviving books come from the 10th century CE, the earliest belonging to the Buddhist manuscript tradition.

What is the oldest still living thing?

Methuselah, a Bristlecone Pine is Thought to be the Oldest Living Organism on Earth. The Inyo National Forest is home to many bristlecone pines, thought to be the oldest living organisms on Earth.

What happened 7 billion years ago?

And 7 billion years ago, there was apparently a bumper crop of new stars forming—a sort of astral baby boom. “We have more young grains that we expected,” Heck said. “Our hypothesis is that the majority of those grains, which are 4.9 to 4.6 billion years old, formed in an episode of enhanced star formation.

What is the oldest place on Earth?

Pilbara covers an area of around 502,896 sq km, and is primarily composed of a rocky and arid landscape. The region dates back billions of years, with some of the rock formations going over 3.5 billion years.

What is the oldest thing to exist on Earth?

It's a blue zircon gemstone, found in the Jack Hills north of Perth, Australia. It is about 1/60th of an inch long and red in color, but glows blue when irradiated. It is the oldest object known to have been formed on Earth, about 4.4 billion years old.

Who was the first human on Earth?

Homo erectus, our ancient ancestor. The extinct ancient human Homo erectus is a species of firsts. It was the first of our relatives to have human-like body proportions, with shorter arms and longer legs relative to its torso.

What is the oldest city in the world?

1. Damascus, Levant: 10,000 BCE – 8000 BCE.