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How did the writing direction of cuneiform change during the 3rd millennium BCE?

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Sumerian cuneiform tablet — cuneiform An account of barley distribution, probably from Uruk, Mesopotamia, c. 3100–2900 bce; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

During the 3rd millennium BCE, the writing direction of cuneiform underwent a significant shift. Initially, the script was organized in columns that ran downward. Over time, this orientation changed, and the standard order of signs became fixed as running from left to right.1

This transition in directionality was accompanied by a broader evolution in the script's appearance. As the writing became more cursive and pictographs developed into conventionalized linear drawings, the signs were turned on their sides to accommodate the new left-to-right horizontal flow. This development coincided with the increasing use of a stylus to press wedge-shaped marks into clay tablets, which eventually replaced the earlier practice of drawing curving lines.1