The first recorded form of writing is Mesopotamian cuneiform. It predates Egyptian Hieroglyphics. It is distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus.
Archaeologist Denise Schmandt-Besserat determined the link between previously uncategorized clay "tokens", the oldest of which have been found in the Zagros region of Iran as Mesopotamian cuneiform.