Before Writing: Volume 1: From Counting to Cuneiform

Denise Schmandt-Besserat

ISBN 10: 0292707835 / ISBN 13: 9780292707832

Published by University of Texas Press, USA, 1992

About this Item

Superb scholarship. Her token theory is generally accepted. pp.xv.269. Illus. DW in archival sleeve.

Seller Inventory # 014222

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Before Writing: Volume 1: From Counting to Cuneiform
• Publisher: University of Texas Press, USA
• Publication Date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0292707835
• ISBN 13: 9780292707832
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Near Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine

About this title

Synopsis

A fascinating book on the origins of writing.

Before Writing gives a new perspective on the evolution of communication. It points out that when writing began in Mesopotamia it was not, as previously thought, a sudden and spontaneous invention. Instead, it was the outgrowth of many thousands of years' worth of experience at manipulating symbols.

In Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform, Denise Schmandt-Besserat describes how in about 8000 B.C., coinciding with the rise of agriculture, a system of counters, or tokens, appeared in the Near East. These tokens—small, geometrically shaped objects made of clay—represented various units of goods and were used to count and account for them. The token system was a breakthrough in data processing and communication that ultimately led to the invention of writing about 3100 B.C. Through a study of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, Schmandt-Besserat traces how the Sumerian cuneiform script, the first writing system, emerged from a counting device.

In Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens, Schmandt-Besserat presents the primary data on which she bases her theories. These data consist of several thousand tokens, catalogued by country, archaeological site, and token types and subtypes. The information also includes the chronology, stratigraphy, museum ownership, accession or field number, references to previous publications, material, and size of the artifacts. Line drawings and photographs illustrate the various token types.

About the Author

Denise Schmandt-Besserat is Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.