Download The Emergence of a Civilization

The Inf luence of Writing in Mesopotamian Society and
Ancient Egypt
History : Oral vs. Written
Mesopotamia
 Sumer – 3200 BCE
Indus Valley Civilization
–
2200 BCE
Civilization of the Nile
Valley
 Egypt – 3200 BCE
China
–
1200 BCE
 Why does writing emerge?
 As more people are living together in cities, they needed
ways of keeping records for businesses and
governments
Mesopotamia – the
fertile crescent, rich in
 Would you want to trust your
agriculture- the cradle of
Land and money to someone’s
civilization
memory?
Remember: When you
think “Civilization” think
 Initially use pictures
city.
 Clay Tokens
 Used for economic
transactions
 Every item had it’s own
token
 Used a seal to identify
the recipient
 * Problem how do you
keep track of loose
tokens. What happens if
it’s a big transaction?
 To Clay Tablets
 With clay tablets you can :
1.
2.
document more diverse information
use numerals to reduce repetition
 Pictures were drawn with a reed on soft clay
 What challenges might drawing on clay
present?
 A new writing tool was developed, which
led to the writing known as cuneiform
 A triangular stylus that created a wedge
shape
 There were between 600- 1000 characters
 Begin with a picture
 Move towards a symbol
 The symbol represents a phonetic sound (vocal)
 Does the connection between a symbol and a sound
remind you of anything?
Fun Fact: Because cuneiform
uses to represent sounds, any
language can be written using
this method
 Everyone????
 Scribes were a restricted class and writing was a




privileged profession.
You had to go to school to become a scribe
Scribes were mainly male
They helped the government by tallying taxes
They also created religious texts.
“Put Writing into your heart that you may protect yourself
from hard labour of any kind… the scribe, he directeth the
work of all men. For him there are no taxes, for he payeth
tribute in writing.”
 Egyptian scribes kept government records and letters
for the Pharaoh and preserved the sacred beliefs on
temples and in tombs.
'As a scribe you are given the power and
knowledge of writing. First, you must learn the
common script of the land so you can perform
everyday tasks. After that, if you are lucky and
talented, you will also learn the sacred script.
Those who learn the sacred script will learn the
secrets of the gods and the mysteries of the
land.'
 The system of writing used in Ancient Egypt
 Built around thousands of intricate pictograms called
glyphs
 Hieroglyphics – for sacred purposes
 Hieratic and demotic –
a quick and shorter form
of hieroglyphics
1. Ideogram – object or
idea
2. Phonogram – sound
 Transition from stone to papyrus
plant called Cyprus
 Papyrus is made from a ________
Papyrus
What is useful about using papyrus instead of stone?
 Watch British Museum Video
 Brushes made from a kind of rush
 The rushes were cut on a slant
 Carved in 196 BC
 Found in 1799
 Written in two languages
( Egyptian and Greek)
 Written in three
different scripts
(Hieroglyphics, demotic,
Greek)
 Deciphered in 1822 by
Jean- Francois
Champollion
The oval cartouche in hieroglyphic writing symbolizes
a royal name.
What would your name look like?
Writing – Moving beyond business transactions
What other impacts did writing have in Mesopotamia
and Ancient Egypt
 The development and documentation of Law
 Hammurabi Code
 Literature
 The Epic of Gilgamesh
 Religion
 The Book of the Dead
 Personal and historical documentation