Bronze and Iron AgesCulture & Arts Enheduanna, first named author c. 2,285 BCEMajor Sargon's daughter, a high priestess, writes hymns. She is the earliest author in history known by name. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → Complex language → Natufian villages → Oldest known bread → Agriculture begins → Irrigation → Uruk and the first cities → Cylinder seals → Writing (cuneiform) → Akkadian Empire → Enheduanna, first named author Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesDocumentbritannica.comEnheduanna (Britannica) ↗Editor's pickBookSophus HelleEnheduana: The Complete Poems of the World's First Author ↗Editor's pickBookBetty De Shong MeadorInanna, Lady of Largest Heart ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeEnheduanna first known author ↗Editor's pick