Ancient writings on rocks across the Arabian Peninsula are assisting in the reconstruction of early Arabic societies, including economic and social situations, as well as people’s attitudes toward love, marriage, and happiness.
According to Dr. Salma Hawsawi, professor of ancient history at King Saud University in Riyadh, the engravings reveal evidence of early religious belief and ritual performances, as well as details about professions, crafts, and currencies, and also emphasize the engravers’ expertise and talent.
Writing is a man-made invention, Hawsawi said to Arab News. “It is a means of exchanging ideas and knowledge among communities, as well as debating them, independent of class, beliefs, or sects.”
She went on to say that the historical information gained from these inscriptions can represent people’s emotions at the time, such as love, fear, longing, despair, and happiness.
As a result, inscriptions are viewed as a true witness of what people lived through at the time, highlighting the region’s cultural depth.
Writing and engraving, according to Hawsawi, were considered professions. “Writing, in general, reflects the level of civilization and knowledge attained by Arab society, as well as writing’s significance in humanity’s progress.” Cuneiform script spread throughout Mesopotamia around 3,200 B.C. and was used until A.D.100, according to Hawsawi.
By 4,000 B.C., Egypt had adopted the hieroglyphic script, while northern Syria had adopted the Ugaritic script. Sinaitic writing was created by a group of Canaanites working in the Sinai desert’s turquoise and copper mines around 1,400 B.C.
Meanwhile, from 300 B.C. to 300 A.D., the Phoenician and Punic scripts spread throughout North Africa, dating back to 1,000 B.C.
Written inscriptions found all over the Arabian Peninsula provide information about the Arab communities that resided there. Some of the inscriptions were religious in nature, focusing on god names and religious ceremonies, while others were more social in nature, addressing personal status, marriage, divorce, and the names of people.
Tribal names and places, as well as professions and crafts, trade provisions, currencies, and exports and imports, were all included in engravings.
