{"product_id":"how-writing-came-about","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\u003eand \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\u003edraws 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","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57319188103550,"sku":"NW9780292777040","price":22.22,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780292777040.jpg?v=1778727205","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/how-writing-came-about","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}