The Invention of Writing - Essay Example

The Invention of WritingThe article The Invention of Writing is majorly about how writing came into being; its invention. The author, Pandora, explains how writing evolved from early forms of photography and ideography. Modern humans such as the San, Aborigines and the Cro Magnon started drawing pictures about 40,000 years ago. The author explains how true writing is thought to have been invented at two separate times; one form of writing was the Cuneiform which was developed in ancient Sumeria while the other form of writing got its roots from the predecessors of the Mayans, the Olmecs in Mexico (pandora.cii.wwu.

edu par 1-3). The intent of the article is to paint a realistic picture of how different ancient cultures and people groups contributed to the development of writing as it is done in the modern day. For instance the writer explains that the Cuneiform writing of the Sumerians was not used to represent their linguistic sounds but to help remember economic data recorded (pandora.cii.wwu.edu par 4). There is a relationship between writing and anthropology, this falls under a branch of anthropology known as linguistic anthropology.

This helps examine the relationship between language and aspects of culture that are not related to culture. This is majorly focused on processes that are social and cognitive and how human behaviour affects and is affected by language (Wayne State University Par 1). Language serves as a means through which culture can be understood; through it ethnographers get knowledge in regards to culture. The significance of writing is majorly of understanding the past. This as part of linguistic anthropology is of high significance to archaeologists.

On a different note, the evolution of language and the relationship between language and the function of brain play important roles in biological anthropology (Wayne State University Par 1). The writer gives an in-depth explanation of how writing evolved from simple pictorials to what the modern world has and uses. The writer takes the audience through different forms of ancient writings in ancient Mesopotamia, Asia, and Mexico, - writings that later evolved to represent syllables in an irregular way (pandora.cii.wwu.

edu Par 1-14). This in-depth information makes the essay rich to be used as a reference. The essay raises the issue of how most people assume that since most of the ancient writings used symbols that were a representative of pictures that they are primitive forms of writing. The writer refutes this as he/she believes that just as these ancient writings used pictorials to represent syllables irregularly so do modern languages such as the English language. The English language, for example, depends on symbols, semantic and phonetic factors.

To say these writings are primitive is to include English writing in the same category (pandora.cii.wwu.edu par. 15). The contribution of anthropology in understanding the above issue raised is key to clearing the air. Anthropology helps scholars gain vital understanding to decipher and understand such areas that seem grey. By understanding the meaning of symbols and pictures, they can prove whether or not languages are primitive (pandora.cii.wwu.edu Par 2). Through learning how different people communicated at different times, people get to understand the differences and similarities between the ancient writing and modern writing.

With the records kept by anthropologists in a precise and clear way, it is easier to understand what was being communicated through the ages (Killgrove par. 6). Works citedKillgrove K. Why is anthropology needed. November 10, 2011. June 12, 2014. Web. http://www.poweredbyosteons.org/2011/10/why-is-anthropology-needed.html retrieved 12 July 2014 Pandora. The invention of writing. 2014. June 12, 2014. Web. http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ling201/test4materials/Writing2.htm retrieved 12 June 2014.

Wayne State University. Anthropology: Linguistic Anthropology. 2011. June 12, 2014. Web http://www.clas.wayne.edu/Anthropology/LinguisticAnthropology retrieved.