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Before Writing, Vol. I

From Counting to Cuneiform

By Denise Schmandt-Besserat

University of Texas Press, 1992

A fascinating book on the origins of writing.

Before Writing gives a new perspective on the evolution of communication. It points out that when writing began in Mesopotamia it was not, as previously thought, a sudden and spontaneous invention. Instead, it was the outgrowth of many thousands of years' worth of experience at manipulating symbols.

In Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform, Denise Schmandt-Besserat describes how in about 8000 B.C., coinciding with the rise of agriculture, a system of counters, or tokens, appeared in the Near East. These tokens—small, geometrically shaped objects made of clay—represented various units of goods and were used to count and account for them. The token system was a breakthrough in data processing and communication that ultimately led to the invention of writing about 3100 B.C. Through a study of archaeological and epigraphic evidence, Schmandt-Besserat traces how the Sumerian cuneiform script, the first writing system, emerged from a counting device.

In Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens, Schmandt-Besserat presents the primary data on which she bases her theories. These data consist of several thousand tokens, catalogued by country, archaeological site, and token types and subtypes. The information also includes the chronology, stratigraphy, museum ownership, accession or field number, references to previous publications, material, and size of the artifacts. Line drawings and photographs illustrate the various token types.

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Jandavlattepa, Vol. I

The excavation report for seasons 2002-2006

Edited by Ladislav Stanco and Kazim Abdullaev

Karolinum Press, 2012

Central Asia became a forefront of international archaeological research early in the 1990s. Several respected archaeological teams gradually established their projects throughout post-Soviet republics of Central Asia, including Uzbekistan. In 2002 this effort was joined by a small Czech-Uzbekistani team aiming to begin an archaeological investigation of the northwestern part of ancient Bactria, particularly in the area of Sherabad oasis, with its major site Jandavlattepa.

The focus of this publication is to present some newly discovered data in the field of Bactrian archaeology of Pre-Islamic periods and to shed additional light on different aspects of an understanding of its material culture, primarily in the transitional period between the Kushan and early medieval times. The present title represents a pilot volume, which will be followed up with two additional volumes.

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Machiavelli

The Chief Works and Others, Vol. I

Allan Gilbert, ed.

Duke University Press, 1989

From praise for the 1965 edition:

Allan Gilbert is unquestionably the most accurate and reliable translator of Machiavelli into English; the publication of this edition is an altogether happy occasion. Students of the history of political thought owe a particular debt of gratitude to Allan Gilbert.”—Dante Germino, The Journal of Politics

“A most remarkable achievement.”—Felix Gilbert, Renaissance Quarterly

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Widows

Vol. I: The Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific

Helena Znaniecka Lopata, ed.

Duke University Press, 1987

This volume analyzes the support systems and lifestyles of widows in Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Iran, China, India, Turkey, and Israel.

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