in hebrew, (or is it old aramaic?) vowels were not always included in the text.

Actually, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic do not normally indicate vowels, unless, as you say for clarity (e.g., in the Tanakh, or Old Testament) or for pedagogy (children's books, dictionaries). The term in Hebrew is niqodah 'point, prick' (plural niqodot). (Also, Hieroglyphic Egyptian did not indicate vowels.)