Development of Written Language in the Ancient Near East

Exhibit - Artifacts | October 13, 2009 – February 26, 2010 every Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday with exceptions | Doe Library, Bernice Layne Brown Gallery

Sponsor: Library, The

This exhibit explores the development of writing systems in the Ancient Near East beginning with Sumerian cuneiform, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Proto-Sinaitic through the Medieval Islamic period.

Scholars speculate that ancient civilizations developed witing systems to keep track of their livestock and wealth. But as societal structures became more sophisticated over many centuries, writing systems also grew in sophistication to accommodate and record ancient peoples’ mythologies, history, beliefs, poetry, laws and administrative records.

On display are books, manuscripts, authentic artifacts, and replicas of ancient artifacts that illustrate the development and usage of writing by various civilizations that inhabited the region from 3000 BCE through Medieval Islamic period.

Event Contact: Shayee H.A. Khanaka, Librarian for Linguistics and Middle Eastern Studies, The Library #438 Doe Library, Berkeley, CA 94720, skhanaka@library.berkeley.edu, 510-768-7620

(No event on these dates: November 26, 27; December 20, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 2009; January 01, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 10, 17, 18, 2010)