The First Writing

Ancient writing gives us our first glimpse of history, people and institutions, and yet its origins remain mysterious. The First Writing offers the most up-to-date treatment and examination of the origins of ancient writing. It studies often neglected writing systems, such as those of Mesoamerica. The leading scholars in the field collectively discuss new topics, and highlight new subtleties about how these scripts came into existence and developed during their first centuries of use. Egypt, Mesopotamia, Elamite, Mesoamerica and the Maya, Shang and Runic are all represented.