The first writing : script invention as history and process / edited by Stephen D. Houston.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Houston, Stephen D.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Writing--History.

Writing.

History.

Physical Description:

xvii, 417 pages : illustrations, maps. ; 26 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Summary:

Over 5,000 years ago the first writing began to appear in Egypt and Mesopotamia. Later still, ancient scripts flourished in China and Mesoamerica, with secondary developments in places such as scandinavia. Drawing on top scholars, The First Writing offers the most up-to-date information on these systems of recording language and meaning. Unlike other treatments, this volume focuses on the origins of writing less as a mechanistic process than as a set of communicative practices rooted in history, culture, and semiotic logic. An important conclusion is that episodes of script development are more complex than previously thought, with some changes taking place over generations, and others, such as the creation of syllabaries and alphabets, occurring with great speed. Linguists will find much of interest in matters of phonic and semiotic representation; archaeologists and art historians will discover a rich source on administration, display, and social evolution within early political systems.

Contents:

Part I Orientation and Theory

1 Overture to The First Writing / Stephen D. Houston 3

2 The possibility and actuality of writing / John S. Robertson 16

3 Writing systems: a case study in cultural evolution / Bruce G. Trigger 39

Part II Case Studies of Primary and Secondary Script Formation

4 Babylonian beginnings: the origin of the cuneiform writing system in comparative perspective / Jerrold S. Cooper 71

5 The state of decipherment of proto-Elamite / Robert K. Englund 100

6 The earliest Egyptian writing: development, context, purpose / John Baines 150

7 Anyang writing and the origin of the Chinese writing system / Robert W. Bagley 190

8 Writing on shell and bone in Shang China / Francoise Bottero 250

9 Reasons for runes / Henrik Williams 262

10 Writing in early Mesoamerica / Stephen D. Houston 274

11 Beyond writing / Elizabeth Hill Boone 313

12 Final thoughts on first writing / Stephen D. Houston 349.

ISBN:

0521838614

OCLC:

56442696