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
Zi (cuneiform) Zi (cuneiform) The cuneiform zi sign is a common multi-use sign of the "Epic of Gilgamesh", the 1350 BC Amarna letters, and other cuneiform texts. It also has a sumerogrammic usage for ZI in the "Epic of Gilgamesh". The structure of the cuneiform sign is like its twin, Gi (cuneiform), . The "zi" sign has the syllabic usage for "ze" and "zi", and a sumerogram usage for "ZI". Alphabetically "zi" can be used for "z" ("z" can be interchanged with any "s"); and "zi"/"ze" can be used for "i," or "e". In Akkadian, all 4 vowels, "a, e, i, u"