No kidding!
It’s weird to think that cuneiform was in use for over 3000 years (the last known inscription dates from about 4th AD, similar to the last known Egyptian inscription using hieroglyphs), about the same length of time the alphabet has now been in use. :^)
The Phoenicians used one. And being seafaring people, they spread it around. The ancient Greeks attributed the introduction of the Greek alphabet to the Phoenicians. They used ships... I wonder if that’s where the Barca family got their name...
/rimshot