Are these the oldest letters?

Researchers may have found proof of the first alphabet at a tomb in Syria. (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)
A woman digs at the tomb site in 2012. (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)
Do these symbols look like letters to you? (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)
Researchers also found pottery at the site. (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)
Each clay cylinder is a few inches long. Does the first symbol look like a check mark? (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)
Archaeologists use trowels, brushes, and small hand picks when they dig. (Dr. Glenn Schwartz, Johns Hopkins University)

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People dug in the ground. They found clay. It had marks on it. Are these the first letters?

When did people first learn to write? It may be earlier than we thought.

Pray: Thank God that He gave us letters and words. Thank Him for the words of the Bible.

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Researchers found four clay cylinders at a tomb in Syria. That was in 2004. The clay had strange marks. People did not talk about those marks much until last year. Now folks wonder if they are part of the first alphabet. Are they letters? They are about 500 years older than other known alphabets. Forms of early writing were symbols that stood for words. There could be thousands of symbols. Alphabets are simpler. They have 20 to 30 letters.

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)