The Writing Revolution

In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy to forget that writing is the original Information Technology, created to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defy time and space. The Writing Revolution picks apart the development of this communication tool to show how it has conquered the world. Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possible everything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, to instruction manuals and love letters Draws on an engaging range of examples, from the first cuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanese syllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging Weaves together ideas from a number of fields, including history, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguistics and literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume Traces the origins of each of the world s major written traditions, along with their applications, adaptations, and cultural influences

In a world of rapid technological advancements, it can be easy toforget that writing is the original Information Technologycreated to transcend the limitations of human memory and to defytime and space. The Writing Revolution picks apart thedevelopment of this communication tool to show how it has conqueredthe world.* Explores how writing has liberated the world, making possibleeverything from complex bureaucracy, literature, and science, toinstruction manuals and love letters* Draws on an engaging range of examples, from the firstcuneiform clay tablet, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and Japanesesyllabaries, to the printing press and the text messaging* Weaves together ideas from a number of fields, includinghistory, cultural studies and archaeology, as well as linguisticsand literature, to create an interdisciplinary volume* Traces the origins of each of the world's major writtentraditions, along with their applications, adaptations, andcultural influences

List of Illustrations viiPreface xi1 The First IT Revolution 12 Cuneiform: Forgotten Legacy of a Forgotten People 133 Egyptian Hieroglyphs and the Quest for Eternity 334 Chinese: A Love of Paperwork 565 Maya Glyphs: Calendars of Kings 796 Linear B: The Clerks of Agamemnon 957 Japanese: Three Scripts are Better than One 1138 Cherokee: Sequoyah Reverse-Engineers 1339 The Semitic Alphabet: Egypt to Manchuria in 3,400 Years14310 The Empire of Sanskrit 16911 King Sejong's One-Man Renaissance 19112 Greek Serendipity 20813 The Age of Latin 22914 The Alphabet Meets the Machine 249Appendix: Figures A.1-A.7 273Further Reading 281Index 297