{"product_id":"how-writing-came-about-paperback-softback-9780292777040","title":"How Writing Came About (Paperback \/ softback) 9780292777040","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eHow Writing Came About\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eDenise Schmandt-Besserat (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780292777040\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePaperback \/ softback, published 1 February 1997\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e207 pages\u003cbr\u003e25.4 x 17.8 x 1.3 cm, 0.399 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eDiscoveries in the history of writing are rare, but Denise Schmandt-Besserat made one in realizing that phonetic writing in the West descends not from pictography, a view repeated everywhere, but from abstract, nonphonetic, mostly noniconographic accounting tokens used in Neolithic farming communities of the Near East beginning from about 8000 B.C. A condensation of volume I of \u003ci\u003eBefore Writing \u003c\/i\u003e...this book is a perfect production, utterly lucid, thoughtfully illustrated, and thoroughly convincing.\u003c\/div\u003e (American Journal of Archaeology)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTop 100 Books on Science, American Scientist, 2001\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1992, the University of Texas Press published \u003ci\u003eBefore Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eBefore Writing, Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens.\u003c\/i\u003e In these two volumes, Denise Schmandt-Besserat set forth her groundbreaking theory that the cuneiform script invented in the Near East in the late fourth millennium B.C.-the world's oldest known system of writing-derived from an archaic counting device.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow Writing Came About \u003c\/i\u003edraws material from both volumes to present Schmandt-Besserat's theory for a wide public and classroom audience. Based on the analysis and interpretation of a selection of 8,000 tokens or counters from 116 sites in Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey, it documents the immediate precursor of the cuneiform script.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePreface\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIntroduction: Tokens, a New Theory \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Myths\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Pictographic Theory\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTokens\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart One: The Evidence \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e1. What Are Tokens? \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTypes and Subtypes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEvolution from Plain to Complex Materials\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eManufacture\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Token Collection under Study\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e2. Where Tokens Were Handled and Who Used Them \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTypes of Settlements\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDistribution within Settlements\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStructures\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eToken Clusters\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eContainers Holding Tokens\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAssociated Assemblages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTokens as Funerary Offerings\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e3.Strings of Tokens and Envelopes \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStrings of Tokens\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEnvelopes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e4. Impressed Tablets \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNumber\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eContext\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChronology\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDescription\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Signs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBeyond the Impressed Tablets: Pictography\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Meaning of Signs and Their Corresponding Tokens\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Place of Impressed Tablets in the Evolution of Writing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart Two: The Interpretation \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e5. The Evolution of Symbols in Prehistory \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSymbols and Signs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLower and Middle Paleolithic Symbols\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUpper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Symbols\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNeolithic Symbols\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA Turning Point in Communication and Data Storage\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e6. Tokens: The Socioeconomic Implications \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReckoning Technology and Economy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReckoning Technology and Social Organization\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e7. Counting and the Emergence of Writing \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Various Modes of Counting\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Sumerian Philological Evidence\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Near Eastern Archaeological Data\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e8. Conclusions: Tokens, Their Role in Prehistory and Their Contribution to Archaeology \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEconomy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePolitical Structure\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMathematics\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommunication\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePart Three: The Artifacts \u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCones\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpheres\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDisks\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCylinders\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTetrahedrons\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOvoids\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eQuadrangles\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTriangles\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBiconoids\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParaboloids\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBent Coils\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOvals\/Rhomboids\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eVessels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTools\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnimals\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMiscellaneous\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNotes\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGlossary\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIndex\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52670841028888,"sku":"9780292777040","price":21.56,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/how-writing-came-about-paperback-softback-9780292777040","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}