A History of Hittite Literacy
A History of Hittite Literacy
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Why did the Anatolians remain illiterate for so long, although surrounded by people using script? Why and how did they eventually adopt the cuneiform writing system and why did they still invent a second, hieroglyphic script of their own? What did and didn't they write down and what role did Hittite literature, the oldest known literature in any Indo-European language, play? These and many other questions on scribal culture are addressed in this first, comprehensive book on writing, reading, script usage, and literacy in the Hittite kingdom (c.1650–1200 BC). It describes the rise and fall of literacy and literature in Hittite Anatolia in the wider context of its political, economic, and intellectual history.
- The first comprehensive overview of the subject, the product of a lifetime of research and thinking
- Provides a good introduction to both the Hittite cuneiform and Anatolian hieroglyphic writing systems
- Offers new solutions to a number of longstanding problems in the field of Hittite/Anatolian studies
Reviews & endorsements
'Theo van den Hout is to be congratulated for having produced a groundbreaking book, which will remain for many years to come an essential reference work not only for all scholars in Hittitology and ancient Near Eastern studies, but also for anybody who wants to approach the topic of literacy in ancient societies.' Michele Cammarosano, Bulletin of the American Society of Overseas Research
Product details
January 2021Hardback
9781108494885
448 pages
155 × 235 × 30 mm
0.78kg
51 b/w illus. 1 map 35 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- 1. Writing and Literacy among the Anatolians in the Old Assyrian Period
- 2. From Kanesh to Hattusa
- 3. First Writing in Hattusa
- 4. Literacy and Literature in the Old Kingdom until 1500 bc
- 5. The Emergence of Writing in Hittite
- 6. A Second Script
- 7. The New Kingdom Cuneiform Corpus
- 8. The New Kingdom Hieroglyphic Corpus
- 9. The Wooden Writing Boards
- 10. The Seal Impressions of the Westbau and Building D and the Wooden Tablets
- 11. In the Hittite Chancellery and Tablet Collections
- 12. Scribes and Scholars
- 13. The End and Looking Back.
