Final answer:
The Phoenicians invented the world's first known alphabet with around 22 symbols that represented consonant sounds, significantly influencing the development of later alphabets including Greek and Roman, and contributing to higher literacy rates amongst common people.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Phoenicians, known for their significant contributions to the ancient world, invented what is believed to be the world's first known alphabet around 1100 BCE. This alphabet consisted of symbols that represented consonant sounds. Their innovative writing system excluded vowels and primarily focused on the consonantal sounds to form words, assuming the reader would interpret vowel sounds from context. This efficient method of writing enabled more people to become literate compared to the complex scripts used previously, such as Egyptian hieroglyphics or Chinese characters.
The Phoenician alphabet greatly influenced the development of other writing systems, most notably the Greek and Roman alphabets, and by extension, the alphabets used in most European languages today. A key factor in the spread of the Phoenician writing system was its simplicity, which allowed a larger portion of the population, including merchants, to become literate without the need for a specialized scribal class.
In terms of the specific number of symbols, the Phoenician alphabet initially had around 22 characters representing consonant sounds, although variations existed over time and between regions. This relatively small number of characters made the alphabet easier to learn and use, contributing to the broader spread of literacy in the ancient Mediterranean world.