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BBC The Secret History of Writing 1080p HDTV x265 AAC MVGroup org

Kieth Gray・90 minutes read

Writing, from ancient hieroglyphs to modern alphabets, transformed communication and preserved knowledge across civilizations, influencing cultural development and historical evolution. The transition from papyrus to parchment marked a shift in book production and cultural reading practices, highlighting the impact of writing materials on societal development.

Insights

  • Writing, an ancient technology, transcends time and space, immortalizing individuals and enabling communication across civilizations.
  • The Rebus principle, seen in various ancient scripts, revolutionized language by using pictures to represent sounds, shaping the evolution of writing systems.
  • The adaptation of hieroglyphs by Canaanites led to the creation of alphabets, influencing Latin and Greek scripts, showcasing the interconnectedness of ancient writing systems.
  • The shift from papyrus to parchment marked a transition in book production, impacting cultural development and reflecting the influence of writing materials on societal norms and practices.

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Recent questions

  • What is the significance of writing in ancient civilizations?

    Writing in ancient civilizations like Egypt and Mesopotamia served as a powerful tool for immortalizing individuals, sharing knowledge across distances and time, and recording information visually. It allowed for the development of complex scripts like cuneiform and hieroglyphs, transforming communication and enabling the transmission of knowledge across civilizations. Writing also played a crucial role in the creation of legal codes, historical records, and monumental inscriptions, shaping the cultural and intellectual landscape of ancient societies.

  • How did the Rebus principle influence ancient writing systems?

    The Rebus principle, using pictures to represent sounds, played a significant role in the evolution of ancient writing systems like Sumerian and Egyptian. It allowed for the spelling out of words through images, enabling the creation of more complex scripts capable of writing epics, stories, and historical accounts. The use of symbols with multiple meanings and the pairing of images to represent sounds were essential in the development of scripts like cuneiform and hieroglyphs, showcasing the cognitive process shared by different civilizations in creating and interpreting written language.

  • What materials were used for writing in ancient Rome?

    In ancient Rome, writing materials like papyrus and parchment were commonly used for creating books and documents. Papyrus, made from the plant of the same name, was affordable and widely available, with different grades offering varying prices. Parchment, on the other hand, was made from animal skins like sheep, calf, or goat, providing durability and resistance to tearing, burning, and acid. The use of quills made from bird feathers for writing on parchment, along with the labor-intensive process of book production, highlighted the importance of writing materials in shaping the accessibility and longevity of written works in ancient Rome.

  • How did the invention of the printing press impact book production?

    Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in Mainz, Germany in 1448 revolutionized book production, marking a transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era. The printing press enabled the mass production of books, making them more accessible to a broader audience and significantly increasing information availability. This transformation in book production had far-reaching effects on science, industry, and the dissemination of knowledge, laying the foundation for the scientific and industrial revolutions that followed.

  • What was the significance of script reforms in Turkey and Central Asia?

    Script reforms in Turkey and Central Asia, like Uzbekistan, aimed to modernize and align with Western standards by replacing traditional scripts with the Latin alphabet. These reforms symbolized a shift towards secularism, technological advancement, and European modernity, impacting literacy, education, and cultural heritage. The adoption of the Latin alphabet in these regions reflected political changes, altering identities and societal structures while highlighting the role of scripts in shaping national and international connections.

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Summary

00:00

Evolution of Writing: From Hieroglyphs to Cuneiform

  • Writing is an ancient technology, at least 5,000 years old, that allows thoughts to be shared across time and space.
  • Hieroglyphs, an ancient Egyptian writing system, were used in spells to resurrect Pharaoh Tetty in the afterlife.
  • Writing is a powerful tool that immortalizes individuals and allows communication across distances and time.
  • Aboriginal cultures, like the Wardenman people, have rich oral traditions, passing down knowledge through songs and stories.
  • Images in Aboriginal culture represent ancestors and hold sacred significance, serving as a map of knowledge.
  • The need for writing arose from the desire to record information visually, leading to the development of scripts like cuneiform in Mesopotamia.
  • Cuneiform, an ancient script, evolved from pictographic signs representing commodities and numbers to a more complex system capable of writing epics and stories.
  • The Rebus principle, using pictures to represent sounds, allowed for the spelling out of words, as seen in Sumerian and Egyptian writing.
  • The Nama Palette in Egypt showcases the use of the Rebus principle, where pairs of images represent sounds that spell out names and words.
  • Writing, through the evolution of scripts and the Rebus principle, transformed communication and allowed for the recording and transmission of knowledge across civilizations.

24:23

"Rebus Principle: Ancient Writing Systems Unveiled"

  • Reba's principle was extended to the full vocabulary of the Egyptian language, creating hieroglyphs, rivaling cuneiform as the world's first writing system.
  • Hieroglyphs were studied by Orly Goldwesser, involving an ordering system where all elements were of the same size.
  • The Rebus principle allowed for writing language in pictures only, with symbols having multiple meanings.
  • The Rebus principle was crucial for rulers to write history, create legal codes, and build monuments in the Fertile Crescent.
  • Oracle bone script in China was used for divination, with inscriptions deciphered to reveal questions about military actions.
  • Chinese characters and Egyptian hieroglyphs share similarities in using pictures and the Rebus principle.
  • Chinese writing uses phonograms and determinatives to clarify meanings, similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs.
  • Mayan glyphs also utilize the Rebus principle and classifiers, akin to cuneiform and Egyptian scripts.
  • Writing systems globally share the Rebus principle, reflecting a common human cognitive process.
  • The discovery of alphabets in Egypt's Sinai desert suggests a possible link between hieroglyphs and alphabets, possibly influenced by Canaanite migrants.

47:54

Evolution of Alphabet: From Canaan to Gutenberg

  • Gardiner identified the last symbol as resembling the letter T in the ancient Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, connecting it to a Canaanite goddess known as Ba'alat.
  • The Canaanite goddess's name was crucial in deciphering the mysterious Cerebic script, with the first symbol resembling the Egyptian hieroglyph for "house."
  • The Canaanites simplified the hieroglyphs to represent single sounds at the beginning of words, creating an alphabet of around 25 to 30 pictures.
  • The Canaanites' adaptation of the hieroglyphs influenced the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans, leading to the evolution of the alphabet across the Middle East and Mediterranean.
  • The Latin and Greek alphabets trace their origins back to the Canaanite hieroglyphs, with various letters derived from Egyptian symbols.
  • The connection between the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and modern alphabets is evident in the evolution of letter shapes over time.
  • The invention of the alphabet by illiterate migrant workers at Cerabit revolutionized communication, uniting cultures through a simple script.
  • Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the printing press in Mainz, Germany in 1448 marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era, impacting science and industry.
  • Brody Neuenschwander's experimental approach to calligraphy explores historical writing tools and materials, tracing back to ancient Egyptian papyrus.
  • Papyrus, made from the plant of the same name, was a foundational material for writing in ancient Egypt and later spread across the Mediterranean world, influencing Roman book production.

01:09:15

Transition from Papyrus to Parchment in Writing

  • Papyrus was a common writing material in ancient Rome, affordable due to its availability and different grades, with top grades being pricier.
  • Labor for creating books was often provided by slave scribes, leading to criticism from authors about rushed and cheap bookshop copies.
  • Books were relatively accessible in ancient Rome, with prices like a soldier's daily wage, and public libraries founded by emperors offering alternatives for those who couldn't afford books.
  • The Roman Empire's decline led to a decrease in book production as papyrus became harder to obtain, marking a shift towards more expensive writing materials.
  • Parchment, made from animal skins like sheep, calf, or goat, was used to create durable books, resistant to tearing, burning, and acid, making them long-lasting.
  • Quills made from bird feathers were used for writing on parchment, with the process involving cutting, shaping, and scoring the parchment for neat and clear writing.
  • Writing on parchment was a slow process, with a skilled scribe able to produce around two pages a day, contrasting the faster pace of writing on papyrus with a reed pen.
  • Bruges was a significant center of book production in medieval Europe, with records showing the high cost of parchment and the limited number of books produced annually.
  • Luxury manuscripts in Bruges, like one costing as much as a house, showcased elaborate decorations with materials like gold and malachite, representing a pinnacle of medieval art.
  • The shift from papyrus to parchment marked a transition from a broad reading culture in antiquity to a more limited one in the Middle Ages, highlighting the impact of writing materials on cultural development.

01:29:37

Evolution of Chinese Paper Making and Printing

  • Chinese brush calligraphy focuses on brushwork to create characters, enabled by the writing surface.
  • Paper-making in China began in the 2nd century A.D., with paper being crucial for woodblock printing.
  • Handwritten text was glued to wooden blocks, carved by skilled craftsmen, making printing laborious but efficient.
  • Chinese paper's absorbency, flexibility, and durability allowed for easy book production.
  • Chinese paper abundance contrasted with European scarcity, enabling widespread use for notebooks.
  • Paper-making spread to Samarkand via captured Chinese paper makers, leading to a thriving industry.
  • The process of making paper involved extracting mulberry pith, cooking, pounding, and forming pulp.
  • Islamic paper makers added a step of polishing paper for smooth calligraphy surfaces.
  • Samarkand's paper mills supplied the Islamic world, fostering an intellectual golden age.
  • The European printing revolution, initiated by Gutenberg's press, transformed book production and accessibility.

01:53:35

Challenges in Arabic Manuscript Reproduction

  • The cursive letters in the Arabic manuscript were not connected properly, leading to gaps between them, making it challenging for movable type to replicate the look accurately.
  • Ottoman printers struggled to compete with the local book trade due to the difficulty in reproducing Arabic manuscripts, with the first Arabic print shop in Istanbul established in 1727, over two centuries after Hebrew and Armenian alphabets were printed.
  • The first Arabic book printed with movable type in the Muslim world emerged about 200 years after the Gutenberg Bible, showcasing advancements in Arabic printing technology with more ligatures resembling Arabic handwriting.
  • Despite improvements, movable type failed to capture the market, leading to the print shop's closure within 20 years, as it couldn't reproduce the calligraphy of the Quran effectively.
  • The Gutenberg Bible's content, appealing to a broad audience, contrasted with the limited audience for the Arabic dictionary printed using movable type, hindering its market success.
  • The inability to mass-produce affordable Qurans with movable type limited the market, as the format couldn't replicate the traditional Quran layout, unlike the Bible's successful replication.
  • The success of printing in Europe with movable type was due to the Latin alphabet's ease of replication, enabling a significant increase in information availability, leading to scientific and industrial revolutions.
  • Mustafa Kamal's radical script reform in Turkey in 1928 aimed to replace the Arabic alphabet with the Latin alphabet to modernize and align with Western standards, enhancing literacy and education.
  • The ban on the Arabic script in Turkey aimed to break ties with Islamic traditions, symbolizing a shift towards secularism and technological advancement, aligning with European modernity.
  • Script reforms in Turkey and Central Asia, like Uzbekistan, illustrate how changing scripts can alter identities and signify political shifts, impacting cultural heritage and societal evolution.

02:22:19

"Latin and Chinese scripts: Modernity and Tradition"

  • The Latin alphabet symbolizes modernity and connection to the world.
  • In China, people write characters in water, using an ancient pictorial script.
  • The Chinese script has been in use for over 3,000 years.
  • Attempts to replace the Chinese script with a simpler system led to political turmoil.
  • The Communist Party of China introduced Latin new writings to make reading easier.
  • Mao's forces spread Latin script through newspapers, books, and schools.
  • Despite efforts, both Latin letters and Chinese characters were used in publications.
  • Chinese characters bind the people together, reflecting their deep attachment to the script.
  • The brain processes phonetic and pictographic scripts similarly, suggesting equal learning difficulty.
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