The Edwin Smith papyrus is the world's oldest surviving surgical document. It was written in hieratic script in ancient Egypt around 1600 BC. The text describes 48 types of medical problems in exquisite detail. These pages discuss facial injury

Letter on a clay tablet sent by the high-priest Lu’enna to the king of Lagash It tells the king of his son's death in combat. The script is cuneiform, the date ~2400 BC

Trilingual inscription of Xerxes at Van Fortress in Turkey

Scribe at work

Writing is the act of recording language on a visual medium using a set of symbols. The symbols must be known to others, so that the text may be read.

A text may also use other visual systems, such as illustrations and decorations. These are not called writing, but may help the message work. Usually, all educated people in a country use the same writing system to record the same language. To be able to read and write is to be literate.