Mesopotamia: How Did Writing Begin?: Tony Sagona

With information so pivotal to our daily existence, it’s almost inconceivable to think of a world without writing. Yet the earliest known system of writing is only about...

[@vahnlewis9749]

Enjoyed this discussion, primarily for the discussions of pre-writing tokens. Have been amazed by the work of Svante Paabo and David Reich (and their hundreds of collaborators) who have pushed back time timeline of human genetics into the mesolithic and before. Part of the fall out of all that, is studying artifacts left by pre-writing peoples becomes more interesting. Such artifacts may have symbolic meanings that either indicate individual's characteristics (and work like the modern sign posts you provided at the beginning of this seminar.) And it may be possible to infer characteristics for peoples prior to writing. This leads to an array of identity symbols that may be blended together (e.g. "Hi, I'm Sally, not her sister"), with social symbols (e.g. "Hi, I'm Sally of the Summer Peoples Tribe"), or financial symbols (e.g. "Hi, I'm Sally and I'm the richest girl in the valley") with status symbols (e.g "Hi, I'm Sally, and I am the Chief of this Tribe" or "I'm the most stylish dressmaker in the tribe" as exemplified by quality of ancient artworks). This actually fits within Denise Schmandt-Bessert's thinking as she went looking for ancient artwork, but realize she had found money and writing, Apparently, in the Yamnaya burials they find large artifacts like cart wheels and horse bones. Wonder what the small stuff might be saying.

[@anialiandr]

An amazing lecture - I will use it in my courses !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you

[@gregpoirier1779]

QUACKADEMIA

[@anialiandr]

look forward to watching this. As I recall, on their tablets they explained how writing began - it was given to them by the creature that lived in the water -- and I actually believe it exactly as they say it.

[@charliehutch3533]

+Ania Lian wacko

[@alsdyall]

Geoffrey Sampson believes that most scholars hold that Egyptian hieroglyphs "came into existence a little after Sumerian script, and ... probably [were] invented under the influence of the latter ..."[18] This view, however, is strongly contested by other scholars. Dreyer's findings at Tomb UJ at Abydos in Upper Egypt clearly show place names written in hieroglyphs (up to four in number) recognizable as signs, which persisted and were employed during later periods and which are written and read phonetically. The tomb is dated to c. 3250 BC and demonstrates that such writing (on bone and ivory labels) is a more advanced form of writing than was evident in Sumer at that date. It is argued, therefore, that the Egyptian writing system, which is in any case very different from the Mesopotamian, could not have been the result of influence from a less-developed system existing at that date in Sumer.[19]19. (Gunther Dreyer. A Hundred Years at Abydos.)

[@charliehutch3533]

A series of cart tracks was identified beneath the northwestern half of
the long barrow, measuring just over 20 m long and consisting of two
parallel bundles of wheel ruts, up to 60 cm wide. mid 4th millennia BCE..Poland.. so how long did it take to get all the way up there???
. writing came much earlier... possibly 5,000 BCE..he should go look at a book...cause he's def. behind modern theory...:P one point that aggravates me is all this old building point of tech. understanding is in fact from religion... Specifically Christian, Jewish and Islam. which have always lied about 'origins'

[@jerrysamuels8716]

If one pays attention they will notice that the origin of almost everything is in and around Africa, but as much as possible almost never in Africa-a Black society.

[@jerrysamuels8716]

@G L According to your christian bible a Blackman named Nimrod discovered Mesopotamia. So are you calling the bible a lie?

[@otis267]

So you could have just got up and said "around the year 3500 BC in Southern Mesopotamian we have writing and all the other writing since seem to derive from that one thank you I will now go off on a tangent for the remaining 40 min of the lecture

[@KedikaAbibitumitv]

He is incorrect ,Egypt has writing ,or an writing system dating 4000 BC much older than Mesopotamia ,also during 3500 BC Mesopotamia writing was not yet an writing system but an proto - underdevoloped writing system

[@bronwynhiggs4907]

Most scholars agree that Egypt developed writing several hundred years after Mesopotamia. In the opening section, the lecture details these developments.

[@jerrysamuels8716]

@@bronwynhiggs4907 Most scholars are wrong then.

[@bronwynhiggs4907]

@@jerrysamuels8716 “The first ones [writing systems].. come from Mesopotamia, and those from Egypt soon emerge... The first scribes we know about wrote on shaped lumps of clay. They wrote in Sumerian, a language related to no other. “ Source: Peter T Daniels, “The Study of Writing Systems” in Peter T. Daniels and William Bright (eds), The World's Writing Systems, Oxford University Press, 1996, p. 19

[@Mohamedd834]

Exactly 4000 bc but the main problem is that scholars are fanatics against Egyptian civilization i don't know why

[@gregpoirier1779]

This guy is full of crap. There was an earth-wide extremely ancient global civilization. Pre-dates Sumeria

[@gregpoirier1779]

Going into past History does NOT end at Sumeria

[@orfeus1986]

That is not true the Ancient Writing
began in Europe Vinca!!!! Read a book please.

[@jerrysamuels8716]

Nothing began in 'Europe.

[@alessandraa24]

Or you could read his books

[@freeworld2275]

LIES