jan 1, 3200 BC - Writing

Description:

The oldest forms of writing first emerged in ancient Mesopotamia during the 4th century BCE, and in Egypt around the same time (Sington, 2020). This writing was pictographic, depicting literal representations of what was being written about. This method of recording information is the predecessor to all subsequent writing, and developed independently in multiple parts of the world.

A vital development in the history of writing was the rebus principle, which allowed more abstract and complex writing by using pictographic symbols not for their literal meanings, but instead for the sounds of the words they represent (Sington, 2020).

About the images: These images represent four important independently-developed traditions of writing- those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, East Asia, and Mesoamerica (Sington, 2020). The first image is of a Sumerian clay tablet, made sometime between 3100–2900 BCE (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Like many examples of early writing, the tablet is an administrative or economic document, with pictographs recording the distribution of grains. The second is an oracle bone containing early Chinese pictographic script made sometime around 1250-1050 BCE (National Museum of Asian Art). The third is a jadeite celt (axe) from the Olmec civilization of Mexico made sometime between the 10th–4th century BCE (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). The design carved into the celt is believed to be a precursor to Olmec pictographic writing. The fourth is a relief from the tomb of the Ancient Egyptian physician Amenhotep from around 1279–1213 BCE, demonstrating the more complex writing allowed by the rebus principle (Cleveland Museum of Art).

Sources
Sington, D. (Director). (2020). A to Z: The First Alphabet. [Video/DVD]. In NOVA. Public Broadcasting Service. https://video-alexanderstreet-com.libezproxy2.syr.edu/watch/hour-1?utm_campaign=Video&utm_medium=MARC&utm_source=aspresolver

Image
Celt with Incised Profile. (circa 10th–4th century BCE). [Jade (jadeite), traces of red pigment]. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310467
Cuneiform tablet: Administrative account concerning the distribution of barley and emmer. (circa 3100-2900 BCE). [Clay]. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327384
Oracle bone fragment, inscribed. (circa 1250-1050 BCE). [Bone]. Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, D.C. https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1985.35/
Tomb Relief of the Chief Physician Amenhotep and Family. (circa 1279-1213 BCE). [Limestone, paint]. Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH. https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.100

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