1300 187 187
 

Before Writing

From Counting to Cuneiform v. 1

Hardcover

Published: 1st January 1992
RRP $158.99
$143.50
10%
OFF
This title is not in stock at the Booktopia Warehouse and needs to be ordered from our supplier.
Click here to read more about delivery expectations.

Praise for Before Writing: ., ."possibly the single most important contribution published in recent years concerned with the antecedents to writing." -- Libraries and Culture "Schmandt-Besserat's discovery and its ramifications . . . are crucial to understanding the development of civilization.... This is a thought-provoking book, beautifully produced, and what it tells us is of great importance." -- Times Literary Supplement "What shines here is the human mind, spinning a tight web of inference from abundant evidence." -- Scientific American

Schmandt-Besserat's discovery and its ramifications . . . are crucial to understanding the development of civilization.... This is a thought-provoking book, beautifully produced, and what it tells us is of great importance.

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Tokens, a New Theoryp. 1
The Mythsp. 1
The Pictographic Theoryp. 4
Tokensp. 6
The Evidence
What Are Tokens?p. 17
Types and Subtypesp. 17
Evolutionp. 17
Materialsp. 29
Manufacturep. 30
The Token Collectionp. 31
Plain Tokensp. 35
The Geographic Distributionp. 35
Chronologyp. 36
Tokens in Iranp. 40
Tokens in Iraqp. 44
Complex Tokensp. 49
Urukp. 49
Susap. 73
Habuba Kabirap. 88
The Complex Tokens Phenomenonp. 91
Where Tokens Were Handled and Who Used Themp. 93
Types of Settlementsp. 93
Distribution within Settlementsp. 93
Structuresp. 95
Token Clustersp. 97
Containers Holding Tokensp. 97
Associated Assemblagcsp. 98
Tokens as Funerary Offeringsp. 101
Strings of Tokens and Envelopesp. 108
Strings of Tokensp. 108
Envelopesp. 110
Impressed Tabletsp. 129
Discoveryp. 129
Numberp. 130
Contextp. 132
Chronologyp. 133
Descriptionp. 133
The Signsp. 134
Beyond the Impressed Tablets: Pictographyp. 139
The Meaning of Signs and Their Corresponding Tokensp. 150
The Place of Impressed Tablets in the Evolution of Writingp. 153
The Interpretation
The Evolution of Symbols in Prehistoryp. 157
Symbols and Signsp. 157
Lower and Middle Paleolithic Symbolsp. 158
Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Symbolsp. 159
Neolithic Symbolsp. 161
A Turning Point in Communication and Data Storagep. 163
Tokens: The Socioeconomic Implicationsp. 166
Reckoning Technology and Societyp. 166
Reckoning Technology and Economyp. 167
Reckoning Technology and Social Organizationp. 170
Counting and the Emergence of Writingp. 184
Counting: The Linguistic and Anthropological Evidencep. 184
The Sumerian Philological Evidencep. 187
The Near Eastern Archaeological Datap. 188
Conclusions: Tokens, Their Role in Prehistory and Their Contribution to Archaeologyp. 195
Technologyp. 196
Mathematicsp. 196
Cognitive Skillsp. 197
Economyp. 197
Social Structurep. 197
Communicationp. 198
The Artifacts
Charts 1-16p. 203
Conesp. 203
Spheresp. 206
Disksp. 208
Cylindersp. 212
Tetrahedronsp. 214
Ovoidsp. 216
Quadranglesp. 218
Trianglesp. 220
Biconoidsp. 222
Paraboloidsp. 223
Bent Coilsp. 224
Ovals/Rhomboidsp. 225
Vesselsp. 226
Toolsp. 229
Animalsp. 230
Miscellaneousp. 232
Notesp. 233
Indexp. 259
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.

ISBN: 9780292707832
ISBN-10: 0292707835
Audience: Professional
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Number Of Pages: 283
Published: 1st January 1992
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Dimensions (cm): 29.0 x 22.3  x 2.3
Weight (kg): 1.306