Writing C

Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond.

• Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing
• Includes discussions of Ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Mayan writing
• Shows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behavior
• Clarifies the argument with many illustrations

Author: Barry B. Powell
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
Published: 04/20/2009
Pages: 296
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.26h x 6.44w x 0.81d
ISBN: 9781405162562

Review Citation(s):
Science 04/03/2009 pg. 38
Choice 12/01/2009

About the Author
Barry B. Powell is Halls-Bascom Professor Emeritus of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has written extensively on ancient Greek literature and the history of writing. His books include Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet (1991), A New Companion to Homer (editor, with Ian Morris) (1997), Writing and the Origins of Greek Literature (2001), and two editions of Homer (second edition, Blackwell, 2007).