The Diamond Sutra, found in a cave at Dunhuang, China, is dated 868: the oldest known dated printed book, nearly six centuries before Gutenberg. This woodblock-printed scroll, over five meters long, states it was commissioned by one Wang Jie for free distribution in honor of his parents.
Around 2300 BCE, Enheduanna, daughter of King Sargon of Akkad, became high priestess of the Moon god at Ur. She composed hymns to the goddess Inanna and put her name to them. She is the oldest person identified as the author of a literary work, about 1,500 years before Homer.
Squeeze Earth's 4.5 billion years into a single 24-hour day. Homo sapiens shows up around 11:59:54 p.m., roughly six seconds before midnight. All of written history, from Sumerian tablets to today, fits into the final tenth of a second. A cosmic blink.