Which other ancient peoples adopted cuneiform after the Sumerians?

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Following the Sumerians, many ancient peoples adopted and adapted the cuneiform writing system for their own languages. The primary groups included:

  • Akkadians: As Semitic invaders in Mesopotamia, they adopted the script in the 3rd millennium BCE, adapting it to their own language while retaining Sumerian logograms.1
  • Elamites: Located in southwestern Iran, they adopted the system during the 3rd millennium BCE and continued its use into the 1st millennium BCE.1
  • Hurrians: Inhabiting northern Mesopotamia and the upper Euphrates, they adopted Old Akkadian cuneiform around 2000 BCE.1
  • Hittites: This Indo-European people, who invaded central Asia Minor, received the script from the Hurrians.1
  • Persians: The Indo-European Persians utilized an external model of cuneiform to create a simplified, quasi-alphabetic script for the Old Persian language.1
  • Ugaritians: The Canaanite city of Ugarit adapted cuneiform into a consonantal script around 1400 BCE.1
  • Urartians: The kingdom of Urartu adopted a variety of Neo-Assyrian cuneiform between the 9th and 6th centuries BCE.1