The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process

Houston S D [ed]

ISBN 10: 0521838614 / ISBN 13: 9780521838610

Published by Cambridge University Press, UK, 2004

About this Item

Excellent scholarship; twelve essays. pp.xvii.417. Figs. DW in original archival sleeve; a little creasing at top of spine; see photo.

Seller Inventory # 011267

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The First Writing: Script Invention as History and Process
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, UK
• Publication Date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521838614
• ISBN 13: 9780521838610
• Binding: Cloth
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good

About this title

Synopsis

Although ancient writing offers our first glimpse of history, people and institutions, its origins remain mysterious. This book presents the most up-to-date analysis of the origins of ancient writing. Studying often neglected writing systems, such as those of Mesoamerica, leading scholars collectively discuss how these scripts came into existence and developed during their first centuries of use. Egypt, Mesopotamia, Elamite, Mesoamerica and the Maya, Shang and Runic are represented.

About the Author

Stephen Houston is Professor of Anthropology at Brown University, Rhode Island. A scholar of the ancient Maya in Mexico and Central America, he is the author of many books on the Maya, most recently The Memory of Bones: Body, Being and Experience among the Classic Maya (with David Stuart and Taube, 2010).