Writing from Invention to Decipherment

Abstract

This book corrals global scholarship on ancient writing systems from China, Mesopotamia, Central America, the Mediterranean, to more recent newly created scripts such as the Rongorongo from Easter Island, the Caroline Island scripts, as well as the alphabet. The aim is to dig into the foundations of writing and showcase the complexities and varieties of scripts, from their invention to the potential decipherment of poorly understood scripts. The volume offers state-of-the-art research on undeciphered scripts from the Aegean (as, for example, Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A) or not completely deciphered (as, for example, Maya) scripts. From a methodological perspective, these contributions lay out how and why writing was invented, who used it, and to what ends. Here writing is presented as a multi-modal cultural phenomenon, which intersects and transcends neat discipline boundaries, within an inclusive approach bridging archaeology, linguistics, epigraphy, and cognitive studies. After a general introduction, the book is organized into three parts. The first part is dedicated to chapters charting convergent, common trends and patterns in the origin and developments of writing in completely independent contexts, while never losing track of local differences and original solutions. The central part is devoted to exploring different approaches and methods to the study of undeciphered scripts. The final part showcases current approaches to early writing and reading.