EARLIEST PRECURSOR OF WRITING
EARLIEST PRECURSOR OF WRITING
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DOI：
10.1038/scientificamerican0678-50
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发表时间：
1978-01-01
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
SCHMANDTBESSERAT, D
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
SCHMANDTBESSERAT, D
丹尼斯·施曼特-贝瑟拉特是德克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校的考古学家。她对早期符号系统的研究导致了写作的起源，目前正在影响着广泛学科的学生。本章讨论的是记号在其他史前符号系统中的地位。在介绍了从旧石器时代到新石器时代的象征主义的相关方面之后，它分析了这些象征物的前身，它们如何彻底改变了象征的使用，以及它们如何预示了写作。符号是具有特殊意义的东西，它使我们能够构思、表达和交流思想。像符号一样，符号也是传达意义的东西，但它们的不同之处在于携带的信息狭窄，精确和明确。从人类诞生之初，符号就包含了所有人的知识、经验和信仰。同样的象征传统在旧石器时代晚期和中石器时代继续着。
Denise Schmandt-Besserat is an archaeologist working at the University of Texas at Austin. Her work on early symbol systems leading to the origin of writing is currently influencing students in a wide range of disciplines. This chapter deals with the place of tokens among other prehistoric symbolic systems. After presenting relevant aspects of symbolism from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic period, it analyzes what the tokens owed to their antecedents, how they revolutionized the use of symbols, and how they presaged writing. Symbols are things whose special meaning allows us to conceive, express, and communicate ideas. Like symbols, signs are things that convey meaning, but they differ in carrying narrow, precise, and unambiguous information. From the beginnings of humanity, symbols have encapsulated the knowledge, experience, and beliefs of all people. The same symbolic tradition continues in the Upper Paleolithic and the Mesolithic.