Before the alphabet

Description

Before there was writing, people remembered-the history of the tribe, how to make tools or placate the gods, who owned what. The growth of commerce required written records. This program traces the development of writing, from the earliest Sumerian cuneiform examples and the almost parallel development of hieroglyphics in Egypt, through the evolution of different concepts and shapes to the development of a workable alphabet, explains how the mysteries of cuneiform writing and hieroglyphics were solved, and shows superb examples of these early forms of writing.

Runtime

26 min

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

[2009], c1989

Database

Films on Demand

Direct Link

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