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
Na (cuneiform) Na (cuneiform) The cuneiform na sign is a common, multi-use sign, a syllabic for "na", and an alphabetic sign used for "n", or "a"; it is common in both the "Epic of Gilgamesh" over hundreds of years, and the 1350 BC Amarna letters. In the "Epic of Gilgamesh" it also has sumerogramic (capital letter (majuscule)) usage for NA. An example usage for "NA" in the Epic is for the spelling of "NA.GAD", (also "LÚ.NA.GAD", and the plural "LÚ.NA.GAD.MEŠ"), for Akkadian language "nāqidu", ""herdsman"". The usage for "NA" in herdsman is only for 3 spellings. The commonness of cuneiform "na", in