Here are some of the oldest surviving books in the world. A 2,500 year journey along the worlds greatest canal. Before the spread of writing, oral literature did not always survive well, though some texts and fragments have persisted. Parts of it were composed more than 3700 years ago, predating even the bible, which is the second oldest book in history. Equally incorrect are websites whose claims are based on the premise that a book is a printed object. According to reports, the book, exhibited in 2003, was estimated at about 2,500 years old. The definition of oldest book is tough to pin down. The epic of gilgamesh is the oldest known piece of literature in the world. Written in 2100 bce it predates homers iliad by 1500 years. Right now, the book known as the oldest in the world is a severalpagelong volume held by the bulgarias national museum of history. Guinness book of world records names 112yearold oldest. Wikimedia commons although the gutenberg bible is not as old as other books that have survived throughout history, it is being included on this list for its significance as the first book to be printed using mass produced movabletype. Bob weighton, who celebrated his 112th birthday this month, is now the. In the book, children are taken on a timetravelling journey into chinese history.
So i thought it would be refreshing to find the oldest bookstore in the world to get a little perspective. The book is comprised of six pages of beaten 24carat gold covered with etruscan script, one of the few writing systems scholars have yet to decipher source. I do not claim this book is from god, this is just a very interesting subject. Thus the oldest book in the world must surely be the gutenberg bible oldest printed book in the west, from c. The oldest book ever written, is the rig veda, one of the tenets of hinduism. While shuruppaks fatherly wisdom is one of the most ancient examples of written literature, history s oldest known fictional story is probably the epic of gilgamesh, a mythic poem that. The guinness book of world records on monday officially recognized a man from the united kingdom as the oldest living man. The oldest history of the world is also possibly the most unique retelling of the genesis story that i have ever come across. Childrens history of worlds oldest and longest canal a. The oldest history of the world is a work so obscure that to call it forgotten would be an abuse of terms. The first is notable for being the oldest book in the world with a front cover still attached to it. The best documentary ever the oldest book ever found. The bible is the holy scripture of the christian religion, purporting to tell the history of the earth from its earliest creation to the spread of christianity in the first century a.
This question is pretty fraught for a couple of reasons. London reuters the worlds oldest recorded joke has been traced back to 1900 bc and suggests that toilet humour was as popular with the ancients as it is today. The oldest history of the world, free pdf global grey. This obscure book was put together by jarett kobek. This book may just be the oldest book ever discovered, and it was written for you. The oldest history of the world discovered by occult science in detroit, michigan. With news this week of the discovery of what could be the earliest known siddur, a jewish prayer book dated at around 840 ad we have put together a list of 10 of the oldest known surviving books in the world today writing and literature are thought to have been first developed between the 7th and 4th millenium bc. While shuruppaks fatherly wisdom is one of the most ancient examples of written literature, historys oldest known fictional story is probably the epic of gilgamesh, a mythic poem that. The epic is a rich literary text that explores themes of.
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