The Cult of the Book. What Precolumbian Writing Contributes to Philology
10.3726/78000_29 The Cult of the Book. What Precolumbian Writing Contributes to Philology Markus Eberl Vanderbilt University, Nashville Abstract Precolumbian people developed writing independently from the Old World. In Mesoamerica, writing existed among the Olmecs, the Zapotecs, the Maya, the Mixtecs, the Aztecs, on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and at Teotihuacan. In South America, the knotted strings or khipus were used. Since their decipherment is still ongoing, Precolumbian writing systems have often been studied only from an epigraphic perspective and in isolation. I argue that they hold considerable interest for philology because they complement the latter’s focus on Western writing. I outline the eight best-known Precolumbian writing systems and de- scribe their diversity in form, style, and content. These writing systems conceptualize writing and written communication in different ways and contribute new perspectives to the study of ancient texts and languages. Keywords Precolumbian writing, decipherment, defining writing, authoritative discourses, canon Introduction Written historical sources form the basis for philology. Traditionally these come from the Western world, especially ancient Greece and Rome. Few classically trained scholars are aware of the ancient writing systems in the Americas and the recent advances in deciphering them. In Mesoamerica – the area of south-central Mexico and western Central America – various societies had writing (Figure 1). This included the Olmecs, the Zapotecs, the people of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the Maya, Teotihuacan, Mix- tecs, and the Aztecs. In South America, the Inka used knotted strings or khipus (Figure 2). At least eight writing systems are attested. They differ in language, formal structure, and content.
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