How does writing shape what we can know about the past, and how did writing develop to meet the needs of cities and states?
BBeginning about 5,000 years ago, people in some parts of the world developed a new technology, writing. Writing developed to meet the needs of more complex urban societies that are often referred to as “civilizations.” In particular, writing met the needs of the state, a new political form that developed during the time covered in this chapter.
Clay Letter Written in Cuneiform and Its Envelope, ca. 1850 B.C.E.In this letter from a city in Anatolia, located on the northern edge of the Fertile Crescent in what is now southern Turkey, a Mesopotamian merchant complains to his brother at home, hundreds of miles away, that life is hard and comments on the trade in silver, gold, tin, and textiles. Correspondents often enclosed letters in clay envelopes and sealed them by rolling a cylinder seal across the clay, leaving the impression of a scene, just as you might use a stamped wax seal today. Here the very faint impression of the sender’s seal at the bottom shows a person, probably the owner of the seal, being led in a procession toward a king or god. (© The Trustees of the British Museum/Art Resource, NY)