The written language is a Written monument of antiquity. Ancient history, any historical period before the Middle Ages. Classical antiquity, the classical civilizations of the Mediterranean such as Greece and Rome. Late antiquity, the period between classical antiquity and the Middle Ages. How old is written history? History based on written records appears quite late in human history. The first written records date back a little more than 5,000 years in Egypt and ancient Sumer. The earliest Sumerian records were made using reeds cut at an angle to make wedge-shaped (cuneiform) marks on clay, which was then baked hard.