Question 3 of 10

Source A: In the 3000s BCE, the earliest system of writing in Mesopotamia was based on images that looked like, and represented, physical things. For example, a trader might have drawn a picture of a donkey to indicate the sale of a donkey. Over time, these images evolved into abstract characters, wedges of different configurations representing things and ideas. By the 2000s BCE, they no longer bore any resemblance to the things they stood for, just as groups of letters in English do not look like the things they signify.

Source B: The first evidence of Chinese writing appeared on bone fragments as early as 1600 BCE. Each symbol resembled something tangible, such as a horse or an eye. From these original symbols, an entire writing system emerged that survives to the present day. However, most Chinese pictograms no longer bear any resemblance to what they signify. Over the years, scribes developed a shorthand that allowed for faster writing, simplifying what used to be complete pictures into symbols made up of a few quick brushstrokes.

Which claim synthesizes information from both sources?

A. Chinese writing influenced the writing of Mesopotamia.
B. Ancient writing systems have their origins in pictures.
C. Chinese writers slowly began using a shorthand to write.
D. Mesopotamian and Chinese scribes were highly educated.