WRITING STRATEGIES
Consider the significance of writing. "Civilization" is often defined by the presence of writing systems. There were different strategies developed for writing. These differ in the size of the speech unit denoted by one written signed: either a single sound, or a whole syllable, or a whole word. The more widespread strategy today is the alphabet, which denotes a single sound by a distinctive letter. In the past, one of the popular ways of writing involved logograms. Hieroglyphic writing in Egypt, Mayan glyphs, and Sumerian cuneiform writing all relied on logograms. These continue to be used in Chinese and Japanese (Kanji) writing
systems today. A third strategy used signs for each syllable. For instance, there could be separate symbols for the syllables fa, mi, and ly, which together form the word family. This was the basis of linear B writing of Mycenaean Greece. It is significant to note that writing systems diffused and evolved. For example, Egyptian hieroglyphic writing probably developed as a result of contact between Egypt and Sumeria. Egyptians probably learned the ideas and some principles of writing in this manner. Sumerian writing itself probably began around 8,000 years ago in the early farming villages of the Near East. Clay tokens of various simple shapes were developed to record numbers of sheep and other items. Around 3,000 years ago, a more formal writing system was developed around a set of symbols that reflected phonetic sounds. The Sumerians figured out how to depict an abstract "word" that could not be readily drawn as a picture (logogram). The Sumerian writing system continued to evolve as it was expanded and contradictions needed to be worked out with further abstractions. There was a trend that led to increasing complexity that may help us understand why the English language is so difficult to navigate. Ever considered why the sound "sh" can be written as "ce" as in ocean, "ti" as in nation, or "ss" as in issue?
Writing was to become a means to take power. Hieroglyphs for the Egyptians were the language of the gods - the magic necture. Only the scribes could translate the language of the gods and it was the pharoah who therefore controlled the access to the gods. He held power through the "word".
Click here to hear about the hieroglyphs; sound taken from Mummies and the Wonders of Ancient Egypt; A&E Home Video
LAWS
Ask yourself why the need for laws arose? Every society has at least unwritten "laws" held in common by members of the society. These are essentially the values of a society and only when they are written down does the power of law become effective. Anyone who writes down law has power. Recognize that the first laws, the Code of Hammurabi, were harsh and yet aimed at personal and economic relationships. The concept of an "eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth" stems from these first laws. The foundations laid by the Code of Hammurabi shaped many aspects of law in not only Mesopotamia but elsewhere. Watch the following quicktime movie and think of other trials that led to judgments - Salem or the Inquisition for examples.
This quicktime movie was taken from Lost Civilizations - Mesopotamia produced by Time/Life.
Once what use to be oral tradition within a society was written down, there was immense power that was now controlled by whomever had written down the law.
The power of "written in stone" as in the code of Hammurabi was indeed important as a change in the way people could maintain power.