Mary Bywater The Impact of Writing: Ancient and Modern Views on the Role of Early Writing Systems Within Society and as a Part of ‘Civilisation’ Mary Elizabeth Bywater UCL Submitted for the degree: Master of Philosophy (Mphil) 1 Mary Bywater I, Mary Bywater, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis 2 Mary Bywater Abstract Writing is essential to the way in which we live today, our society would simply not exist without it. Because of this there is often a danger of unconsciously projecting the importance we put on writing onto ancient societies. The aim of my research project is to uncover the way in which the invention of writing was received and originally affected the people living in the regions where it was being used, and how this view fits in with the modern interpretations that have been put forward on the impact of writing and literacy. In my study I will be using Egypt and Sumer as case studies, as they were the first regions to invent writing. This is important as it means their societies had not been exposed to writing beforehand, so their reaction was not affected by a preconceived idea of the function of writing. I will begin by looking at the modern views on the role of writing, espoused by scholars from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. These modern views often link writing to the idea of ‘civilisation’, believing that without it a society cannot be called civilised. The modern views will be contrasted with the ancient views of early writing, both from the perspective of society as a whole, and on a more personal level. By doing so I hope to highlight where modern views of early writing diverge significantly from ancient views, allowing us to reconsider arguments and place them within their proper context. 3 Mary Bywater Contents Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………6 Section A: The Modern Perspectives of Early Writing …………………………………….16 Chapter 1 - Writing as Civilization ……………………………………………………………………....16 Modern Interpretations of the Origins of Writing ………………………………………………...16 Writing as Divine Gift ………………………………………………………………………16 Writing as Civilisation ………………………………………………………………………19 Lévi-Strauss and Slavery …………………………………………………………......24 Effect of Literacy on Thought Processes …………………………………………………………31 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………..38 Chapter 2 - Investigating the Birth of Writing: a Story of Competition …………………………………41 The Decipherment of Cuneiform and Hieroglyphs ………………………………………………41 Religion and Philosophy as Motivation for Decipherment …………………………………42 Neoplatonism and the Egyptian Writing System ……………………………………….42 The Bible and the Mesopotamian Writing System ………………………………...…...43 Prestige as Motivation for Decipherment …………………………………………………...47 Rivalry Between Nations: Britain and France …………………………………………..47 Competing Individuals: The Heroic Scholar ……………………………………………52 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………..62 The Debate about the “Birthplace of Writing” …………………………………………………...64 The Candidates ………………………………………………………………………64 Southern Mesopotamia: Uruk …………………………………………………………...64 Egypt: Abydos …………………………………………………………………………..66 The Role of Radiocarbon Dating in the Debate …………………………………………….70 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………..73 Section B: Views from Within Egypt and Mesopotamia …………………………………..75 Chapter 3 - Divine Patrons of Writing: The Gods as Ideal Scribes ……………………………………...76 The goddess Nisaba ………………………………………………………………………………77 The god Nabu ……………………………………………………………………………………..82 The goddess Seschat ……………………………………………………………………………...87 The god Thoth …………………………………………………………………………………….92 The god Enki ……………………………………………………………………………………...96 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………….99 Chapter 4 - Literary Compositions as Sources for Ancient Views on Writing ………………………...102 Views on the Origins of Writing ………………………………………………………………..103 Enki and Inanna (Mesopotamia) …………………………………………………………..103 Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta (Mesopotamia) ………………………………………….104 The Babyloniaca of Berossos (Mesopotamia) ……………………………………………..106 4 Mary Bywater Views on the Power of the Written Word ……………………………………………………….108 Setne Khamwas and Naneferkaptah (Egypt) ……………………………………….....109 Enmerkar and the lord of Aratta (Mesopotamia) ………………………………………….111 The Sumerian Sargon Legend (Mesopotamia) …………………………………………….112 Views on the Role of the Scribe ………………………………………………………………...114 Satire of the Trades (Egypt) ……………………………………………………………….114 Papyrus Lansing (Egypt) …………………………………………………………………..119 Papyrus Chester Beatty IV (Egypt) ……………………………………………………………….120 Schooldays (Mesopotamia) ………………………………………………………………..122 Dialogues (Mesopotamia) …………………………………………………………………124 The Epic of Gilgamesh (Mesopotamia) ……………………………………………………127 Enki and the World Order (Mesopotamia) ………………………………………………...130 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………...131 Chapter 5 - Writing as a Recording System, Writing as a Creative Tool ……………………………....135 Writing as a Recording System …………………………………………………………………135 Seals and Sealings …………………………………………………………………………136 Pottery Marks ……………………………………………………………………………...141 Tokens and Bullae …………………………………………………………………………146 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………………..148 Writing as a Creative Tool ………………………………………………………………………151 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………...168 Section C: Encounters with Writing ………………………………………………………..173 Chapter 6 - Practitioners of Writing, Levels of Literacy ……………………………………………….174 Literacy as a Status Marker ……………………………………………………………………..175 Levels of Literacy ……………………………………………………………………………….181 Functional Literacy ………………………………………………………………………...182 Scholarly Literacy …………………………………………………………………………189 Technical Literacy …………………………………………………………………………192 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………...194 Chapter 7 - Exposed to Writing: Non-literate Experiences …………………………………………….198 Temple: Encounters with the Divine ……………………………………………………………199 Egypt ………………………………………………………………………………………199 Mesopotamia ………………………………………………………………………………203 Palace: Encounters with the State ……………………………………………………………….206 Conclusions ……………………………………………………………………………………...208 Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………………….210 List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………….217 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………………219 5 Mary Bywater Introduction Overview Writing is integral to the way in which our society functions. There is virtually no area or social group that does not use writing in some way. Because of this total immersion in writing we make certain judgements and assumptions about it. This means that there is a danger of unconsciously projecting our idea of writing onto ancient societies where it may not be valid. The aim of my research project is to examine the way in which early writing systems in Egypt and Mesopotamia were understood by the people who first used them, and how this view fits in with the modern interpretations that have been put forward on the impact of writing. If these views diverge significantly then we must reconsider the way in which we study early writing in order to be able to truly understand it. One of the ways in which modern views of writing are manifested is through the belief that the beginning of writing was also the beginning of ‘civilisation’, which we usually associate with formalised governance, law, art and monumental architecture. However there is evidence that many, if not all, of these things had been achieved long before the invention of writing. In fact it took several hundred years after the invention of writing before its use spread away from purely administrative and ideological arenas and expanded into areas such as literature and letter writing. Therefore we cannot assume that this connection was made by ancient societies. The field has also been dominated by the long running debate between Egyptologists and ancient Near Eastern scholars over which region saw the invention of writing first. However, because of the nature of archaeology we do not have evidence for the earliest ever writing and we are unlikely ever to find it, so this debate over primacy will almost certainly remain unresolved. The issue is further complicated by the fact that the dating of the evidence we do have from each region is so close that any perceived differences are not actually that meaningful. But, as my research will highlight, even if it were to be proven which region 6 Mary Bywater began writing first, it would be of little significance to the study of writing or either culture. Key questions would still abound about early writing and how or if it has shaped society. I would argue that it is time to put aside this debate and refocus our efforts on other aspects of early writing. In my study I use Egypt and Mesopotamia as case studies as they were the first regions to invent writing. This is important as it means their societies had not been exposed to writing beforehand, so their reaction was not affected by preconceived ideas of the function of writing. This should enable us to assess the impact of writing on these societies. It is important to study both Egypt and Mesopotamia because the different scripts used in each region give a variety of perspectives of writing. ‘Writing’ in Egypt and Mesopotamia was not one universal concept but a whole range of different scripts, each of which worked and were used in their own unique ways. Even where a script crosses cultural boundaries we cannot