Which Mesopotamian invention is associated with record-keeping and administration?

Which Mesopotamian invention is associated with record-keeping and administration?

• A. The domestication of horses
• B. Cuneiform writing
• C. The use of irrigation systems
• D. The invention of the wheel

Answer: (B)

Keeping track of resources, taxes, contracts, and official decisions in Mesopotamian city-states required a reliable way to write things down. That need led to cuneiform writing, a script that uses wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets. Scribes used it to record inventories, trade accounts, tax records, and legal agreements, and later to write laws and literature. This writing system provided a durable, standardized method to document administration across temples, palaces, and markets, making governance and accountability possible. The other developments—domestication of horses, irrigation systems, and the wheel—were crucial technologies for movement and farming, but they aren’t primarily about recording information or managing administration.

Keeping track of resources, taxes, contracts, and official decisions in Mesopotamian city-states required a reliable way to write things down. That need led to cuneiform writing, a script that uses wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets. Scribes used it to record inventories, trade accounts, tax records, and legal agreements, and later to write laws and literature. This writing system provided a durable, standardized method to document administration across temples, palaces, and markets, making governance and accountability possible. The other developments—domestication of horses, irrigation systems, and the wheel—were crucial technologies for movement and farming, but they aren’t primarily about recording information or managing administration.