
Contents
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The Arrival of Writing The Arrival of Writing
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Writing Materials Writing Materials
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Roll and Codex Roll and Codex
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Book Production and Book Trade Book Production and Book Trade
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Libraries Libraries
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Record-keeping Record-keeping
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Literacy Literacy
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References References
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28 Information Technologies: Writing, Book Production, and the Role of Literacy
Get accessWilly Clarysse is Professor of Ancient History, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven.
Katelijn Vandorpe is Professor of Ancient History, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.
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Published:18 September 2012
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Abstract
The invention of writing was a huge step in the development of civilization. Writing provided an artificial memory that could be consulted at any time; seeing replaced hearing as a means of communication and as the means of storing communication. The long-term evolution of writing tended toward an ever closer adaptation of script to sound. The diversity of local alphabets in the archaic and classical periods suggests that writing spread quickly, before all the problems of adaptation to Greek had been confronted. The variety of writing materials in antiquity may be illustrated by the last dispositions of Augustus. The choice of writing materials was dictated by their availability and by the purpose they were meant to serve. A discussion on book production and book trade is then provided. Orality and literacy are indeed not opposites, but orality continued to hold a strong position throughout antiquity.
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