Short answers, pulled from the story.
The history of literature is the historical development of writings in prose or poetry meant to entertain or educate readers, along with the literary techniques used to communicate them. It excludes recorded materials such as data compilations like a check register.
Writing began independently in different parts of the world, in Mesopotamia about 3200 BC, in Ancient China about 1250 BC, and in Mesoamerica about 650 BC. Literature was not part of early writing, which was used first for simpler purposes such as accounting.
Sumerian literature is the oldest known literature, written in Sumer. It used no titles, and each work was referred to by its first line. All Sumerian literature carried poetic aspects such as lines, imagery, and metaphor.
Homer is credited with the codification of epic poetry in Ancient Greece through the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed in dactylic hexameter. Virgil's epic poem the Aeneid later closely followed the formula Homer established.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is considered the first modern English novel. It was written in a realistic style and its original edition was marketed as a true autobiography without any mention of Defoe as its author.
A copy of the Diamond Sutra, a key Buddhist text found sealed in a cave in China, is the oldest known dated printed book, with a printed date of 868. It was produced using block printing.
Contemporary literature is defined as literature written after the end of World War II in 1945. Popular literature developed its own genres such as fantasy and science fiction, supported by awards like the Nebula Award since 1965.