Minor shelf wear to binding. Light wear and soiling to edges of text block. Toning on pastedowns & endpapers. Pages toning with age, otherwise Text and images unmarked. Dj lightly worn, sunned & toned in a mylar cover.

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Before Writing: Volume 1: From Counting to Cuneiform
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Publication Date: 1992
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0292707835
ISBN 13: 9780292707832
Binding: hardcover
Edition: First Edition, First printing.
Condition: Very Good
Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
Weight: 45 ounces

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.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

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Chaparral specializes in rare and used books dealing with Western Americana and Native American topics; also included in our collection are books by western writers of both fiction and non-fiction. Located in the Pacific NW, we carry Small Press productions about the region. Our store front is located at 5210 SW Corbett Ave, Portland, OR, 97239 across the street from Elephants Deli.

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2221 SW 1st Ave, Apt 2223, Portland, OR, 97201, U.S.A.

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