Page "Alphabet" Paragraph 8

In the Middle Bronze Age an apparently " alphabetic " system known as the Proto-Sinaitic script is thought by some to have been developed in the Sinai peninsula during the 19th century BC, by Canaanite workers in the Egyptian turquoise mines.

Others suggest the alphabet was developed in central Egypt during the 15th century BC for or by Semitic workers, but only one of these early writings has been deciphered and their exact nature remains open to interpretation.

Based on letter appearances and names, it is believed to be based on Egyptian hieroglyphs.

This script had no characters representing vowels.

An alphabetic cuneiform script with 30 signs including three which indicate the following vowel was invented in Ugarit before the 15th century BC.

This script was not used after the destruction of Ugarit.