Why did the people of Uruk start using writing in the earliest times of civilisation? They were simple peasants of the Urbaid Period. The temple priests out of nowhere started writing symbols for recording transactions and drawing up contracts of obligations and completed obligations - and among those first symbols were the cross and a symbol for deity. * meaning the One God at the top of the hierarchy. + meaning just one of two. That cross never got lost as a symbol throughout history and developed to also mean a sacrifice for forgiveness of sins - yes long before the Christian Period began. It also meant part of shamanistic intermediating between mankind and the gods, including exorcism. That too was thousands of years before it was used similarly in Christianity. Hence its parallel association with pharmacy and healthcare. Throughout history these two concepts symbolised in the star and the cross - DENGIR and MASH - were preserved into modern times in the religion of the Turks and Mongols - Tengrism. Even the word DENGIR for the symbol of God (and gods) is preserved as the Tengristic name for God, Tengri. Similarly in the Chinese Ancient Religion name for God, Tian. The symbols are related 天 and 𒀭. The word for 𒀭 in Sumerian was DINGIR or AN but later in Akkadian it became EL (hence names like Gabri-el). So there was acknowledgement of a topmost God among the gods even at the time writing was first developed in Uruk and it continued throughout history.
