Writing and Languages

Introduction

The formation of cities is regarded as a major step in human development, but what makes a civilization a civilization? How did the human mind change at the end of the Neolithic period to cause the formation of permanent settlements in certain parts of the world, giving rise to what we call civilization? The fields of Anthropology and Archaeology have sought to answer these questions for many years by intensively studying what these early peoples left behind.[1] From these studies, many explanations have been given for the rise of civilizations, and they can be broken down into broad categories, which include but are not limited to: the invention and usage of writing and languages, the use of weaponry in warfare, practical architecture, and religion.

This is the exhibit showcasing artefacts relevant to writing and languages. Please view the three companion exhibits on the other aspects of civilization.

Introduction - Writing and Languages

Writing is perhaps one of humanity’s most important inventions. With the ability to permanently write down thoughts and information, early civilizations were able to take important steps forward economically and culturally.

The original purpose of writing is believed to be record keeping, as a method for cities to record stockpiles of grain, livestock, or its population. Its uses then expanded into more complex and non survival related uses such as poetry, literature, and law codes. For example, in Sumer, writing allowed for trade and records to extend further than the limits of human memory, as information could be recorded permanently for the first time.[2] Human societies and cultures could not have developed the way they have without this innovation.

Many early writing systems were pictographic, meaning that ideas were represented by pictures or icons. Over thousands of years they became phonographic, so that the letters came to represent sounds or syllables.[3]

Language or Writing System?

It is important to note the distinction between writing systems and languages. For example, in Egypt, both Hieratic and Demotic were writing systems used to write the Egyptian spoken language, while Greek and Coptic are used to refer to both the spoken language and to the type of script.

Sources

[1] Fagan, B. 1986. People of the Earth: An Introduction to World Prehistory: Fifth Edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. 349.

[2] Fagan 1986: 308.

[3] Fagan 1986: 337.