Cuneiform

Cuneiformscriptontabletsofclayis,asfarasweknow,theoldestformofwritingintheworld.ThechoiceofclayaswritingmediuminancientMesopotamiameantthatrecordsofallkindscouldsurvivedowntomoderntimes,preservingfascinatingdocumentsfromancientcivilization,writtenbyavarietyofpeopleandsocieties.Fromreadingthesetabletswecanunderstandnotonlythehistoryandeconomicsofthetimebutalsothebeliefs,ideasandsuperstitions.Thisnewbookwillbringtheworldinwhichthecuneiformwaswrittentolifeforthenon-expertreader,revealinghowancientinscriptionscanleadtoanewwayofthinkingaboutthepast.Itwillexplainhowthispre-alphabeticwritingreallyworkedandhowitwaspossibletousecuneiformsignstorecordsomanydifferentlanguagessolongago.Richlyillustratedwithawealthoffreshexamplesrangingfromelementaryschoolexercisestorevealingprivatelettersorbeautifullycalligraphicliteraturefortheroyallibrary,wewillmeetpeoplethatarentsoverydifferentfromourselves.Wewillreadtheworkofmanyscribesfrommundanerecordkeeperstostatefortunetellers,usingtricksfrompunstocryptography.Forthefirsttimecuneiformtabletsandtheirmessagesarenotremoteandinaccessible,butwonderfullyhumandocumentsthatresonatetoday.