Media, Information and Technoculture 2000F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Eric A. Havelock, Sumer, Pictogram
10 Dec 2016
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2: accountancy: economy outstripping memory: pictograph script. Little pictures meant to represent real life objects. Sumerian: rebus principle, pictographic symbol used for phonetic value. Words are represented/conveyed by a combination of images/principles. Very limited as there are only so many concepts that can be presented through such symbols. Abstract concepts: rel. /legal/medical texts, objects and ideas. Cuneiform: wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems, pictography to formal patterns, ideographic and syllabic symbols, non-alphabetic. Messages written on clay tablets that were baked for preservation. Time-biased medium as clay is heavy, not suited for long travel, cannot transport easily over broad areas. Now its possible to have a greater expansion of terminology. Eric havelock: claims pre alphabetic cultures could only be pre-philosophical, pre- literary, pre-scientific. Facilitates learning a language in written form. Increase of schools teaching language and writing. Alphabetic system was set up to produce new modes of thinking and ideas.
