{"product_id":"how-writing-came-about-9780292777040","title":"How Writing Came about","description":"\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\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSchmandt-Besserat, Denise:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Denise Schmandt-Besserat is Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50460082340114,"sku":"9780292777040","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_5e8aaead-1455-4f11-9dcf-bf49a221acff.jpg?v=1730025984","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/how-writing-came-about-9780292777040","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}