{"title":"Denise Schmandt-Besserat","description":"Denise Schmandt-Besserat is Professor Emerita of Art and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.","products":[{"product_id":"how-writing-came-about-paperback","title":"How Writing Came about - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTop 100 Books on Science, American Scientist, 2001\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn 1992, the University of Texas Press published \u003ci\u003eBefore Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBefore Writing, Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens.\u003c\/i\u003e In these two volumes, Denise Schmandt-Besserat set forth her groundbreaking theory that the cuneiform script invented in the Near East in the late fourth millennium B.C.-the world's oldest known system of writing-derived from an archaic counting device.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eHow Writing Came About\u003c\/i\u003e draws material from both volumes to present Schmandt-Besserat's theory for a wide public and classroom audience. Based on the analysis and interpretation of a selection of 8,000 tokens or counters from 116 sites in Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey, it documents the immediate precursor of the cuneiform script.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1992, the University of Texas Press published Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform and Before Writing, Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens. In these two volumes, Denise Schmandt-Besserat set forth her groundbreaking theory that the cuneiform script invented in the Near East in the late fourth millennium B.C. - the world's oldest known system of writing - derived from anarchaic counting device. How Writing Came About draws material from both volumes to present Schmandt-Besserat's theory for a wide public and classroom audience. Based on the analysis and interpretation of a selection of 8,000 tokens or counters from 116 sites in Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey, it documents the immediate precursor of the cuneiform script.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50119759790303,"sku":"9780292777040","price":34.51,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/jU8eth19j9780292777040.webp?v=1781571417"},{"product_id":"before-writing-vol-ii-a-catalog-of-near-eastern-tokens-paperback","title":"Before Writing, Vol. II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eBefore Writing\u003c\/i\u003e gives a new perspective on the evolution of communication. It points out that when writing began in Mesopotamia it was not, as previously thought, a sudden and spontaneous invention. Instead, it was the outgrowth of many thousands of years' worth of experience at manipulating symbols.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eVolume I: From Counting to Cuneiform\u003c\/i\u003e, Denise Schmandt-Besserat describes how in about 8000 B.C., coinciding with the rise of agriculture, a system of counters, or tokens, appeared in the Near East. These tokens-small, geometrically shaped objects made of clay-represented various units of goods and were used to count and account for them. The token system was a breakthrough in data processing and communication that ultimately led to the invention of writing about 3100 B.C. Through a study of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, Schmandt-Besserat traces how the Sumerian cuneiform script, the first writing system, emerged from a counting device.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eVolume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens\u003c\/i\u003e, Schmandt-Besserat presents the primary data on which she bases her theories. These data consist of several thousand tokens, catalogued by country, archaeological site, and token types and subtypes. The information also includes the chronology, stratigraphy, museum ownership, accession or field number, references to previous publications, material, and size of the artifacts. Line drawings and photographs illustrate the various token types.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50119760085215,"sku":"9780292726703","price":103.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/vvY3by-z929780292726703.webp?v=1781571419"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/denise-schmandt-besserat.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}