The ancient culture credited with the invention of writing is the Sumerians, who inhabited Mesopotamia around 3500 BCE. They developed cuneiform writing, which involved pressing a reed stylus into clay tablets to create symbolic representations of words and concepts. This invention significantly impacted communication, record-keeping, and administration, enabling the Sumerians to document trade transactions, laws, religious texts, and literature. The emergence of writing marks a crucial turning point in human history, allowing for the preservation of knowledge across generations and laying the foundational framework for later civilizations to develop their own written languages and literary traditions.