Writing
Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization
Published on 27. March 2009
Book
Hardback
298 pages
978-1-4051-6256-2 (ISBN)
Description
Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond.
* Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing
* Includes discussions of Ancient Egyptian,Chinese, and Mayan writing
* Shows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behavior
* Clarifies the argument with many illustrations
Reviews / Votes
"For anyone interested in language, writing, and their fascinating history across many cultures and centuries of development, this engagingly written, well-illustrated book will provide a very readable mine of information." (CHOICE, December 2009) "Powell's concentration on precise names for terms used in discourse clears up some of the confusion common to histories of work on ancient scripts." (About.com, May 2009) "A feature. is the use of the ancient scripts in the text with numerous illustrations to familiarize the reader with the different writing systems. The result is a readable and enlightening study of a complex topic." (Bryn Mawr Classical Review, April 2010) "Writing is stimulating and impressive." (Science, April 2009)More details
Product info
gebunden
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
Hoboken
United Kingdom
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Paper over boards
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
587 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4051-6256-2 (9781405162562)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
02/2012
Wiley-Blackwell
€27.99
Available for download
Book
02/2012
Wiley
€43.00
Shipment within 15-20 days
E-Book
01/2012
Wiley-Blackwell
€27.99
Available for download
Person
Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has written extensively on ancient Greek literature and the history of writing. His books include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991), A New Companion to Homer (editor, with Ian Morris) (1997), Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature (2001), and two editions of Homer (second edition, Blackwell, 2007).
Content
List of Illustrations.
Maps.
Preface.
Chronology.
Introduction: A Difficult Topic, Little Studied, Poorly Understood.
1. What Is Writing?
2. Writing with Signs.
3. Categories and Features of Writing.
4. Some General Issues in the Study of Writing.
5. Protocuneiform and Counting Tokens.
6. Origin of Lexigraphic Writing in Mesopotamia.
7. Plato's Ideas and Champollion's Decipherment of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs.
8. Egyptian Writing and Egyptian Speech.
9. The Origin and Nature of Egyptian Writing.
10. "The House of Life": Scribes and Writing in Ancient Egypt.
11. Syllabic Scripts of the Aegean.
12. The West Semitic Revolution.
13. What Kind of Writing Was West Semitic?
14. The Origins of West Semitic Writing.
15. Chinese Logography.
16. Lexigraphic Writing in Mesoamerica.
17. The Greek Alphabet: A Writing That Changed the World.
18. Summary and Conclusions.
Glossary.
Bibliography.
Index.