Ancient Writing Systems Ancient is generally defined by Western culture as “before the fall of the Western Roman Empire, 476 CE.” Few remember to consider the highly developed societies of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans with their magnificent Key Concepts architecture, legal systems, epic plays, elaborate ancient boustrephedon religious rituals and myths, comfortable homes cartouche cuneiform with indoor plumbing, and carefully developed demotic script writing systems. Many believe that these societies’ hieratic script hieroglyphics technological developments would not have iconography been possible without written communication. ideograph logogram mnemonics 1.1 Cartouche of Egyptian The study of written communication is somewhat queen Cleopatra II, who ruled papyrus approximately 69–30 BCE. synonymous with the study of the history of civili- parchment A cartouche (called shenu in ancient Egyptian) is a series phonemes of hieroglyphics enclosed by zation. In prehistoric times, before writing systems phonetic an oval or rectangular band COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL representing the name of a were developed, there was no recorded history; phonogram royal or divine persona. pictograph knowledge of past events was orally communi- rebus Rosetta Stone cated from generation to generation. It is possible Semitic languages syllable that if there had never been written records, the typography history of the world would be condensed to the point that one human could commit it to memory. 696900_ch01.indd 1 6/24/2005 10:15:00 AM A T Y P O G R A P H I C W O R K B O O K Already subjective in nature, the experi- to enunciate a spoken language evolved. Fact Find! Archeological ence and recollection of events are further Archeological evidence of fire use, tool evidence indicates the use affected by personal interpretation and making, and cooperative activities predates of fire, tool making, and editing; if there were no written record, it the evolution of a biological capacity for cooperative activities before would be impossible to know any of the speech, indicating the probable use of the evolution of either a verbal details of the earliest cultures and the the extensive nonverbal communication. or written language. What lives of ordinary people who lived in them. As verbal communication developed, are examples of nonverbal Because lettering and typography (the it became easier for humans to interact communication used today? Log style, arrangement, and appearance of type)) with and assist one another in organized on to to your favorite search engine and find an Internet are tied closely to available manufacturing activities, as well as structure their lives reference to help you answer technology, writing substrates (clay, stone, communally to achieve more comfort- the question. Correctly cite your or parchment) reflect the raw materials and able, more predictable, and safer lives. source(s). mechanical abilities of a particular society. Much knowledge of ancient cultures comes Development of Oral Communication to us via secondhand parchment copies of Oral communication allowed humans to papyrus scrolls, made by monks during the communicate feelings, thoughts, concepts, Middle Ages. Most original papyrus texts techniques, and procedures. It brings forth no longer exist, as they deteriorated in the the question of whether thought as we moist Mediterranean climate, while many conceive of it today was even possible before of the copies on parchment (which is made humans developed the capacity to express from animal skins) survived. Contemporary it in words, or whether the expression of translations, therefore, are based on cop- thoughts, hopes, and fantasies become pos- ies that are assumed to be fairly accurate sible because humans developed the means reproductions of the original texts. of expression through refined speech. The earliest evidence of agriculture occurs Prehistoric Societies in the Nile River valley in Egypt, the Tigris Trying to imagine human existence and Euphrates River valleys in Mesopotamia, prior to oral and written communication is and the Yangtze River valley in China. Since difficult. Scientists debate when the ability the first civilizations developed in these P P A A L L E E O O L L I I T T H H I I C C MESOLITHICMESOLITHIC Aboriginal rock VenusAboriginal of rockHandVenus axe of HandSharpened axe Sharpened Namibian cave Namibian cave Venus of Wild grainVenuss of Wild grains Bison cave paintings, Bison cave paintings, Cave paintings, CaveMammoth paintings spear, IndianMammoth animal spear Indian animal Bison Clay cord vases,Bison BeginningClay cord vases, Beginning engravings Willendorengravingf s Willendorf stone tools stone tools paintings paintings Lespugue gatheredLespugue gathered Altamira, Spain Altamira, Spain Lascaux, France Lascaux,thrower France cave paintingsthrower cave paintings hunted Japan huntedagricultureJapan agriculture URL: http:// 19,000 BCE 19,000 BCE 18,000 BCE 18,000 BCE 17,000 BCE 17,000 BCE 16,000 BCE 16,000 BCE 15,000 BCE 15,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 13,000 BCE 13,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 11,000 BCE 11,000 BCE 10,000 BCE 10,000 BCE 9000 BCE 9000 BCE 30,000 BCE 30,000 BCE 9,000 BCE 9,000 BCE 8,000 BCE 8,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 5,000 BCE 5,000 BCE ,000 BCE ,000 BCE 3,000 BCE 3,000 BCE ,000 BCE ,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 0,000 BCE 0,000 BCE Domestication Domestication of dogs & goats of dogs & goats URL: http:// Date visited: 696900_ch01.indd 2 6/24/2005 10:15:02 AM CHAPTER 1: AN cie N t W riti N g S yste M s BACTRI A Caspian Adriatic Sea Sea Black Sea HURRIANS Rome Bosporus ARMENIANS PARTHIANS ETRUSCANS THRACE KASSITES Constantinople Herculaneum MACEDONIA Pompeii Troy HITTITE Tyrrhenian Aegean Tepe Gawra Sea Corfu Sea (Istanbul) EMPIRE Khorsabad GGREECEREECE Nineveh Mycenae Sardis MEDES (PERSIANS) Delphi MITANNI Nimrud Carthage Ionian Thebes Ashur LYDIA Euphrates T Corinth Catal i Sicily Sea R g iv r Hüyük e i s Olympia Athens IONIA r Tell R ELAM iv Sparta AKKAD e Halicarnassus Kish r Rhodes PHOENICIA Babylon Nippur Knossos Cyprus MINOAN Byblos MMEESSOPOPOTAAMIAMIA Susa Mediterranean Sea Phaistos Crete Sidon Tyre Jordan River SUMER Lagash Persepolis Cyrene Uruk Larsa PALESTINE Jericho Ur Jerusalem Tanis Gaza Persian Canopus JUDEA Alexandria S Gulf SO Giza H Y K Memphis EGYPT Mount Sinai Hermopolis Red Sea N ARABIA i l Tell el Amarna e R i v e r Thebes Luxor Karnak 1.2 Early language centers and writing are areas, it may be safe to assume that a hos- ments and gathering food, they could devote believed to have evolved in areas surrounding pitable climate and agricultural knowledge more time refining their living conditions.Red the Mediterranean Sea, from Greece to were two of the most significant contribut- Anthropologists believe that the domestiSea- Mesopotamia. ing factors to the development of human cation of animals was a strong factor in the 1.3 Timeline illustrating the development civilization. Because humans no longer spent development of human societies. Nomadic period of prehistoric tool making, cave the majority of their time battling the ele- tribes used domesticated animals to help painting, and agriculture from 30,000 BCE to 9000 BCE. Gulf of Aden P P A A L L E E O O L L I I T T H H I I C C MESOLITHICMESOLITHIC Aboriginal rock VenusAboriginal of rockHandVenus axe of HandSharpened axe Sharpened Namibian cave Namibian cave Venus of Wild grainVenuss of Wild grains Bison cave paintings, Bison cave paintings, Cave paintings, CaveMammoth paintings spear, IndianMammoth animal spear Indian animal Bison Clay cord vases,Bison BeginningClay cord vases, Beginning engravings Willendorengravingf s Willendorf stone tools stone tools paintings paintings Lespugue gatheredLespugue gathered Altamira, Spain Altamira, Spain Lascaux, France Lascaux,thrower France cave paintingsthrower cave paintings hunted Japan huntedagricultureJapan agriculture 19,000 BCE 19,000 BCE 18,000 BCE 18,000 BCE 17,000 BCE 17,000 BCE 16,000 BCE 16,000 BCE 15,000 BCE 15,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 13,000 BCE 13,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 11,000 BCE 11,000 BCE 10,000 BCE 10,000 BCE 9000 BCE 9000 BCE 30,000 BCE 30,000 BCE 9,000 BCE 9,000 BCE 8,000 BCE 8,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 7,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 6,000 BCE 5,000 BCE 5,000 BCE ,000 BCE ,000 BCE 3,000 BCE 3,000 BCE ,000 BCE ,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 1,000 BCE 0,000 BCE 0,000 BCE Domestication Domestication of dogs & goats of dogs & goats 696900_ch01.indd 3 6/24/2005 10:15:05 AM A T Y P O G R A P H I C W O R K B O O K them more easily transport food and shelter Puzzling Evidence resources. In both nomadic and agrarian societies, domesticated animals could be Archeologists have long held that written slaughtered as necessary for sustenance. language was first developed in Mesopotamia, With the basic necessities of life attended where cuneiform tablets date from 3200 BCE. to, humans turned their attention to refining New evidence emerging from China, however, raises a new question of who may have been tools, maintaining the political organiza- first to pen their thoughts. tion of the tribe, perfecting healing arts, Tortoise shells etched with symbols have defending against predators and pondering been excavated from the Jiahu site in Henan the stars, skies, nature, and spiritual ide- province in central China. The shells found 1.4 Simple pictographs are somewhat als. When information was communicated appear to be part of a funerary ritual in representative in appearance. At top is by word of mouth, certain people were Neolithic graves that have been dated to a pictograph for an ox, and below is the entrusted with the “memory” of the tribe.