How Writing Came About
Published on 1. February 1997
Book
Paperback/Softback
207 pages
978-0-292-77704-0 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
Discoveries in the history of writing are rare, but Denise Schmandt-Besserat made one in realizing that phonetic writing in the West descends not from pictography, a view repeated everywhere, but from abstract, nonphonetic, mostly noniconographic accounting tokens used in Neolithic farming communities of the Near East beginning from about 8000 B.C. A condensation of volume I of Before Writing ...this book is a perfect production, utterly lucid, thoughtfully illustrated, and thoroughly convincing. (American Journal of Archaeology)More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Austin, TX
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 254 mm
Width: 178 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-292-77704-0 (9780292777040)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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Denise Schmandt-Besserat
How Writing Came About
E-Book
01/2010
1st Edition
University of Texas Press
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Denise Schmandt-Besserat
How Writing Came About
E-Book
01/2010
1st Edition
University of Texas Press
€38.99
Available for download
Person
Denise Schmandt-Besserat is Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.
Content
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
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