How Writing Came About

Denise Schmandt-Besserat (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

207 Seiten

1997
University of Texas Press (Verlag)
978-0-292-77704-0 (ISBN)

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A groundbreaking theory on the origins of writing, now presented for a general audience.

Top 100 Books on Science, American Scientist, 2001

In 1992, the University of Texas Press published Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform and Before Writing, Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens. In these two volumes, Denise Schmandt-Besserat set forth her groundbreaking theory that the cuneiform script invented in the Near East in the late fourth millennium B.C.—the world's oldest known system of writing—derived from an archaic counting device.

How Writing Came About draws material from both volumes to present Schmandt-Besserat's theory for a wide public and classroom audience. Based on the analysis and interpretation of a selection of 8,000 tokens or counters from 116 sites in Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey, it documents the immediate precursor of the cuneiform script.

Denise Schmandt-Besserat is Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Preface
Introduction: Tokens, a New Theory

The Myths
The Pictographic Theory
Tokens

Part One: The Evidence

1. What Are Tokens?

Types and Subtypes
Evolution from Plain to Complex Materials
Manufacture
The Token Collection under Study

2. Where Tokens Were Handled and Who Used Them

Types of Settlements
Distribution within Settlements
Structures
Token Clusters
Containers Holding Tokens
Associated Assemblages
Tokens as Funerary Offerings

3.Strings of Tokens and Envelopes

Strings of Tokens
Envelopes

4. Impressed Tablets

Number
Context
Chronology
Description
The Signs
Beyond the Impressed Tablets: Pictography
The Meaning of Signs and Their Corresponding Tokens
The Place of Impressed Tablets in the Evolution of Writing

Part Two: The Interpretation

5. The Evolution of Symbols in Prehistory

Symbols and Signs
Lower and Middle Paleolithic Symbols
Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Symbols
Neolithic Symbols
A Turning Point in Communication and Data Storage

6. Tokens: The Socioeconomic Implications

Reckoning Technology and Economy
Reckoning Technology and Social Organization

7. Counting and the Emergence of Writing

The Various Modes of Counting
The Sumerian Philological Evidence
The Near Eastern Archaeological Data

8. Conclusions: Tokens, Their Role in Prehistory and Their Contribution to Archaeology

Economy
Political Structure
Mathematics
Communication

Part Three: The Artifacts

Cones
Spheres
Disks
Cylinders
Tetrahedrons
Ovoids
Quadrangles
Triangles
Biconoids
Paraboloids
Bent Coils
Ovals/Rhomboids
Vessels
Tools
Animals
Miscellaneous

Notes
Glossary
Index

Verlagsort	Austin, TX
Sprache	englisch
Maße	178 x 254 mm
Gewicht	399 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Freizeit / Hobby ► Sammeln / Sammlerkataloge
	Geschichte ► Hilfswissenschaften ► Paläografie
	Geisteswissenschaften ► Sprach- / Literaturwissenschaft ► Sprachwissenschaft
ISBN-10	0-292-77704-3 / 0292777043
ISBN-13	978-0-292-77704-0 / 9780292777040
Zustand	Neuware