The First Writing - Houston, Stephen D. (ed.)
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Short description/annotation
This work offers the most up-to-date treatment of the origins of ancient writing.
Main description
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…mehr

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Produktbeschreibung
Short description/annotation
This work offers the most up-to-date treatment of the origins of ancient writing.

Main description
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.

Table of contents:
Part I. Orientation and Theory: 1. Overture of the first writing Stephen D. Houston; 2. The possibility and actuality of writing John S. Robertson; 3. Writing systems: a case study in cultural evolution Bruce G. Trigger; Part II. Case Studies of Primary and Secondary Script Formation: 4. Babylonian beginnings: the origin of the cuneiform writing system in comparative perspective Jerrold Cooper; 5. The state of decipherment of Proto-Elamite Robert Englund; 6. The earliest Egyptian writing: development, context, purpose John Baines; 7. Anyang writing and the origin of the Chinese writing system Robert Bagley; 8. Writing on shell and bone in Shang China Françoise Bottéro; 9. Reasons for runes Henrik Williams; 10. Writing in Early Mesopotamia, Stephen D. Houston; Part III. Epilogue: 11. Beyond writing Elizabeth Hill Boone; 12. Final thoughts on writing Stephen D. Houston.
Autorenporträt
Stephen Houston is Jesse Knight University Professor, Department of Anthropology, Brigham Young University. He has written extensively on anthropology and was co-editor of Royal Courts of the Ancient Maya Volumes 1, 2 (Westview Press, 2001). He is a recipient of fellowships from, among others, the School of American Research and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.