Ebook Cuneiform Reading the Past C B F Walker Books
Ebook Cuneiform Reading the Past C B F Walker Books
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The cuneiform writing system flourished in the Near East from before 3000 BC to AD 75. This book surveys the development of the script from the earliest pictographic signs to the latest astronomical tablets and the process by which it came to be used for writing many different Near Eastern languages. Sample texts show how the script is analysed into words and syllables and how to read the names of the most famous kings as they appear on monuments. In addition, extracts from contemporary Sumerian literature and school texts give an account of the training of the scribes, and the various types of inscription they wrote are illustrated. The decipherment of cuneiform is explained and—for the collector—some guidelines for the identification of fake inscriptions are given.
Ebook Cuneiform Reading the Past C B F Walker Books
"What a great introduction to writing in the dawn of civilisation. This book is short but precise and provides a brief introduction for anyone interested in the development of writing in this critical time in world history. From the origin and development, through the process of decipherment to the problem of fake inscriptions it is a worthwhile read. I own an online business called [...] that markets reproduction cuneiform tablets and this is a helpful text for understanding how important Mesopotamia was in world history and the written word."
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Tags : Cuneiform (Reading the Past) (9780520061156) C. B. F. Walker Books,C. B. F. Walker,Cuneiform (Reading the Past),University of California Press,0520061152,Cuneiform writing.,Archaeology,Cuneiform writing,General,History - General History,Language,Language Arts Disciplines,Language Arts Disciplines / Linguistics / General,Linguistics - General,Palaeography (history of writing),Social Science / Archaeology,Writing (Penmanship),linguistics,Sociology
Cuneiform Reading the Past C B F Walker Books Reviews :
Cuneiform Reading the Past C B F Walker Books Reviews
- C.B.F. Walker 'dubsar' (you just have to read the book to understand) has authored a well laid-out work. Reflecting the idea of writing in a limited space on clay tablets, he made his words count with a limited number of pages. If you are only slightly interested in this subject, you will enjoy this book. The main body of reading totals 60 pages (he must have choose this number out of respect for the Babylonian's sexagesimal numeral system). This book can easily be read in a few sittings. As if Walker's words weren't comprehensible enough, he adds clear pictures and drawings. He utilizes simple cuneiform inscriptions as examples.
The chapters are
Origin and Development. Topics include the history and explaination of pictographs and syllabic writing, direction of the script (as it changed over time), cuneiform in relation to Akkadian and Sumerian languages, historical divisions, the use of various forms of cuneiform throughout history with a timeline, and different forms of numerals (including a few fractions).
Tablets and Monuments. Topics include tablet shapes and sizes, writing stylus, envelope useage, stamp and cylinder seals, monuments and commemorative inscriptions (clay nails, bricks, prisms).
Scribes and Libraries. Topics include scribal training and tradition, colophons, and libraries.
The Geographical Spread. Topics include a description of the use of cuneiform in Eblaite, Elamite, Hittite (Nesian), Hurrian, Urartian, Ugaritic, and Old Persian. (Sumerian and Akkadian are discussed throughout)
Decipherment. Topics include history of decipherment and original examples used to decipher.
Sample Texts. Included are guided examples of translated inscriptions.
Fakes. Two interesting pages describing qualities of real and fake tablets.
This is an excellent book to read before enjoying a museum visit.
The price of this book is very affordable because of the size, yet the information presented is well worth the price. - What a great introduction to writing in the dawn of civilisation. This book is short but precise and provides a brief introduction for anyone interested in the development of writing in this critical time in world history. From the origin and development, through the process of decipherment to the problem of fake inscriptions it is a worthwhile read. I own an online business called [...] that markets reproduction cuneiform tablets and this is a helpful text for understanding how important Mesopotamia was in world history and the written word.
- Brief but quite good. It explains cuneiform simply but authoritatively. Nice introduction.
- Got this for my daughter and she loves it. She even has decided to create her own language with her friends. Thanks A Lee
- "Cuneiform" is part of the British Museum's "Reading the Past" series that introduces readers to ancient writing systems. This volume is written by Christopher B. F. Walker, a specialist in Babylonian cuneiform and Mesopotamian history. Like other volumes of the series, this book does not attempt to instruct people in how to read the scripts. Rather, it is an overview in 62 pages of how cuneiform was developed, basically how it works, who used it, and what they used it for. As cuneiform was used for 15 different languages over a period of 3,000 years in the Near East, it had as much impact as our own Roman alphabet has had on Western culture.
But most forms of cuneiform were not alphabetic. Walker takes us through the early development of cuneiform script in the late 4th millennium BC in Iraq, when it was logographic and used primarily for bookkeeping. In the early 2nd millennium BC, it became a syllabic script, by then used to write the Sumerian and Akkadian (Assyrian and Babylonian) languages. The author touches upon the alphabetic cuneiform used for Ugaritic, a Semitic language, in a chapter about the diverse languages that used cuneiform. Throughout the book, I had to pay conscious attention to whether language names refer to the language or to a script, as the same script is used to write many languages, but the script also varies by date and place, which can be confusing to a layperson.
Cuneiform takes its distinctive shape from the mark a reed stylus makes in clay, and it gets its modern name from the Latin word for "wedge". It was mostly written in clay, and the author dedicates a chapter to how the clay tablets were physically inscribed and used. We learn something about the schooling for scribes in Babylonia, where students learned both Sumerian and Akkadian languages and libraries of cuneiform tablets were plentiful. The author rounds out the book by providing a brief history of deciphering cuneiform since the 18th century, some sample texts with translations, and a list of museums that have cuneiform inscriptions in their collections.
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