h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Origins of Writing - Clay Pidgin? - A1119674
Author: Tamrhind - U956597

Having returned from the near-dead myself, so has this

This is impressive stuff, I have no notion about the origins of writing, but this certainly sounds good to me.

Thanks! As comments made when I originally wrote it suggest, there's room for lots more as a number of other culture (eg. Chinese) can more or less justifiably lay claim to 'originating' writing. We'll see how this is received.

"Some people have suggested that the Egyptians farther west can justifiably claim historicity for the earliest writing with their pictographic hieroglyphics."

If the above is correct then wouldn't that make Stone Age man the first to write using cave walls to paint animals, hunting scenes etc? Wasn't this a form of writing/communication. If so then obviously writing goes back even further than 5000 years.

It's certainly a big topic you've chosen and there's probably a lot more detail could be added to this first part let alone writing a series of articles.

It's a good start though.


ST.

"...wouldn't that make Stone Age man the first to write using cave walls to paint animals, hunting scenes etc? Wasn't this a form of writing/communication...".

Indubitably! But , if you start looking at Lascaux as ancient and glorified blackboard, where do you stop? Surely homo ??? was making marks of some kind on perishable material (which has rotted away leaving no record) since their inception.

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Congratulations Look forward to seeing this in the guide

Yeah .... well done.