Proto-Sinaitic Script: Early Alphabetic Writing

The Proto-Sinaitic script developed at Serabit el-Khadim in the Sinai Peninsula and Wadi el-Hol in Egypt represents the earliest known alphabetic writing system. Semitic workers in Egyptian turquoise mines adapted Egyptian hieroglyphs to create approximately 30 signs representing consonant sounds, departing from complex hieroglyphic and cuneiform systems containing hundreds of signs. Scholars debate exact dating between approximately 1850 BCE and 1550 BCE, with recent discoveries suggesting the earlier timeframe. Evidence indicates Proto-Sinaitic served as an ancestor of both the Phoenician alphabet and Ancient South Arabian script.