Writing : theory and history of the technology of civilization / / Barry B. Powell

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910139692303321
• Autore: Powell Barry B
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: Chichester, U.K. ; ; Malden, Mass., : Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
• ISBN: 1-283-45402-5; 9786613454027; 1-118-29348-7; 1-118-29351-7; 1-118-29350-9
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (298 p.)
• Disciplina: 411.09
• Soggetti: Writing - History; Alphabet - History; Writing - Social aspects
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: This paperback edition first published 2012.
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references (p. [263]-269) and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Introduction : a difficult topic, little studied, poorly understood -- What is writing? -- Writing with signs -- Categories and features of writing -- Some general issues in the study of writing -- Protocuneiform and counting tokens -- Origins of lexigraphic writing in Mesopotamia -- Plato's Ideas and Champollion's decipherment of the Egyptian hieroglyphs -- Egyptian writing and Egyptian speech -- The origin and nature of Egyptian writing -- "The house of life" : scribes and writing in ancient Egypt -- Syllabic scripts of the Aegean -- The West Semitic revolution -- What kind of writing was West Semitic? -- The origins of West Semitic writing -- Chinese logography -- Lexigraphic writing in Mesoamerica -- The Greek alphabet : a writing that changed the world -- Summary and conclusions.
• Sommario/riassunto: Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond.Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writingIncludes ; discussions of Ancient Egyptian,Chinese, and Mayan writingShows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behaviorClarifies the argument with many illustrati