The later, typically Hittite form of the cuneiform script is a later development of the Old Babylonian cursive but finds its closest match in the cuneiform variant used in the Syrian kingdom of Yamhad. The mixture of sign shapes is the only one that adequately explains the particular Hittite variant. The heavy diplomatic and military involvement of the Old Kingdom kings Labarna, Hattusili I, and Mursili I provides the historical circumstances, in which the borrowing of the Syrian cuneiform could take place. This chapter ends with a brief introduction to the Hittite cuneiform script and system.

An overview of all possible terms denoting wooden tablets indicates that few can be regarded as positive evidence. As a result, it is argued that wooden tablets played a secondary and even modest role in scribal communication. There is also no real evidence for the theory that they were inscribed in hieroglyphs instead of cuneiform. The strong Luwian character of the terms discussed reinforces the picture of a Luwian speaking population in the chancellery. Other issues discussed here are the objects often identified as styli and assumed to be used for writing hieroglyphs, the cursivization of the hieroglyphic script, and Hittite terms for writing.