* Evolution: The cuneiform system evolved over thousands of years, with new symbols being created and older ones falling out of use.
* Context: The number of symbols used in a specific time period or language varied.
* Purpose: The number of symbols used for a particular text (like a legal document vs. a poem) would also differ.
However, we can provide some estimates:
* Early cuneiform: The earliest cuneiform scripts used around 600 distinct symbols.
* Later Babylonian: By the time of the Babylonian Empire (circa 1800 BCE), the number of symbols expanded to around 2,000.
* Assyrian: During the Assyrian period (circa 900 BCE), the number of symbols could have reached as high as 600-700.
* Total: It's estimated that over the entire history of cuneiform writing, there were over 2,000 distinct symbols used.
It's important to remember that these are rough estimates and the actual number fluctuated significantly.