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Author Boyes, Philip J. (Philip John), author.

Title Script and society : the social context of writing practices in late bronze age ugarit / Philip J. Boyes
Published Oxford : OXBOW BOOKS, 2021

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 308 pages) : illustrations
Series Contexts of and relations between early writing systems ; vol. 3
Contexts of and relations between early writing systems (Series) ; v. 3.
Contents Cover -- Book title -- Copyright -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Part I. Background, theory and methods -- 1. Introduction: Ugarit and its scripts -- 2. The social archaeology of writing -- Part II. Late Bronze Age writing practices in regional context -- 3.Writing in the Bronze Age Levant -- 4.Standardisation, vernacularisation and the emergence of alphabetic cuneiform -- 5.Influence and innovation: networks of writing practice and culture -- Part III. Writing and society at Ugarit -- 6.The contexts of writing at Ugarit -- 7.Writing and the social construction of place -- 8.Who wrote? Literacy in Ugarit -- 9.Writing practices and minority communities -- 10.Social change in Late Bronze Age Ugarit -- 11.Writing practices and elite identity: imperialism, resistance and vernacularisation -- 12.The impact and legacy of alphabetic cuneiform -- 13.Conclusion: the social context of writing practices at Ugarit -- Bibliography
Summary By the 13th century BC, the Syrian city of Ugarit hosted an extremely diverse range of writing practices. As well as two main scripts - alphabetic and logographic cuneiform - the site has also produced inscriptions in a wide range of scripts and languages, including Hurrian, Sumerian, Hittite, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Luwian hieroglyphs and Cypro-Minoan. This variety in script and language is accompanied by writing practices that blend influences from Mesopotamian, Anatolian and Levantine traditions together with what seem to be distinctive local innovations. Script and Society: The Social Context of Writing Practices in Late Bronze Age Ugarit explores the social and cultural context of these complex writing traditions from the perspective of writing as a social practice. It combines archaeology, epigraphy, history and anthropology to present a highly interdisciplinary exploration of social questions relating to writing at the site, including matters of gender, ethnicity, status and other forms of identity, the relationship between writing and place, and the complex relationships between inscribed and uninscribed objects. This forms a case- study for a wider discussion of interdisciplinary approaches to the study of writing practices in the ancient world
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed May 04, 2022)
Subject Writing -- Syria -- Ugarit (Extinct city)
Writing -- Social aspects -- Syria -- Ugarit (Extinct city)
Language Arts & Disciplines / Alphabets & Writing Systems.
Social Science / Archaeology.
Writing
Writing -- Social aspects
Syria -- Ugarit (Extinct city)
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9781789255843
1789255848
9781789255850
1789255856