Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus
Writing and Society in Ancient Cyprus
From its first adoption of writing at the beginning of the Late Bronze Age, ancient Cyprus was home to distinctive scripts and writing habits, often setting it apart from other areas of the Mediterranean and Near East. This well-illustrated volume is the first to explore the development and importance of Cypriot writing over a period of more than 1,500 years in the second and first millennia BC. Five themed chapters deal with issues ranging from the acquisition of literacy and the adaptation of new writing systems to the visibility of writing and its role in the marking of identities. The agency of Cypriots in shaping the island's literate landscape is given prominence, and an extended consideration of the social context of writing leads to new insights on Cypriot scripts and their users. Cyprus provides a stimulating case to demonstrate the importance of contextualised approaches to the development of writing systems.
- Provides a comprehensive account of writing and literacy in Cyprus in the second and first millennia BC
- Considers the context of writing through interdisciplinary research involving epigraphic, linguistic, archaeological and historical information and approaches
- This book is well illustrated with over seventy figures
Product details
No date availablePaperback
9781316620915
290 pages
245 × 170 × 16 mm
0.52kg
74 b/w illus. 3 maps 11 tables
Table of Contents
- 1. The advent of literacy on Cyprus
- 2. Scripts and languages in geometric cyprus
- 3. 'Understanding' undeciphered scripts and unidentified languages
- 4. Visible languages and Cypriot identities
- 5. Cypriot writing at home and abroad.
