Cuneiform to left-to-right in horizontal rows (rotating all of the pictographs 90° counter-clockwise in the process) and a new wedge-tipped stylus was introduced which was pushed into the clay, producing wedge-shaped ("cuneiform") signs; these two developments made writing quicker and easier. By adjusting the relative position of the tablet to the stylus, the writer could use a single tool to make a variety of impressions. Cuneiform tablets could be fired in kilns to bake them hard, and so provide a permanent record, or they could be left moist and recycled, if permanence was not needed. Many of the clay tablets found
Iš (cuneiform) most common uses of "iš" in the Amarna letters, is the use of the Akkadian language word ""ištu"", which means "from", ("since"), in the English language. In the "vassal city-state" letters, in dialogue with the Pharaoh-in-Egypt, there is often mention of having listened to the correspondence – "words of the pharaoh", thus the words — ""I have heard …"", or ""I have listened to …", the clay tablet "words" (correspondence), from the pharaoh. The common Akkadian word for "hear", or "listen", is ""šemû"". Iš (cuneiform) The cuneiform sign iš is a common use sign in the Amarna letters and the