Why did scribes press wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets?

Scribes in ancient Mesopotamia pressed wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets because clay was the primary available writing material, yet it was not well-suited for drawing curved lines.123

As writing evolved from pictographs into more conventionalized linear drawings, scribes utilized a stylus to create these records. By pressing the slanted edge of the stylus into the soft, wet clay, the linear strokes naturally acquired a wedge-shaped appearance. When the writer pressed the reed in harder at the beginning of a stroke, it created a triangular "head," further defining the characteristic "wedges" of cuneiform script. This method allowed for the efficient production of durable documents, which were then dried or baked to ensure they remained long-lasting.142