You updated your password.

Reset Password

Enter the email address you used to create your account. We will email you instructions on how to reset your password.

Forgot Your Email Address? Contact Us

Reset Your Password

SHOW
SHOW

Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

Discover the fascinating history of the written word-its invention, transmission from culture to culture, and evolution-in this interesting course by an anthropologist.
Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity is rated 4.4 out of 5 by 89.
  • y_2024, m_3, d_18, h_10
  • bvseo_bulk, prod_bvrr, vn_bulk_3.0.38
  • cp_1, bvpage1
  • co_hasreviews, tv_4, tr_85
  • loc_en_CA, sid_2241, prod, sort_[SortEntry(order=SUBMISSION_TIME, direction=DESCENDING)]
  • clientName_teachco
  • bvseo_sdk, p_sdk, 3.2.1
  • CLOUD, getAggregateRating, 17.74ms
  • REVIEWS, PRODUCT
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Good course I am only a few lectures into the course so far, but I am happy to give it five stars. I am generally interested in languages and language learning, but have limited knowledge about the writing systems of the world and their significance. The course is wide ranging and well supported by good visuals. The lecturer clearly is an expert in his field and does justice to the content.
Date published: 2023-10-16
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Fascinating course! This is one of the most interesting courses I've come across. Dr. Zender's presentation is entertaining, compelling, and informative. His good humour and ability to explain complex concepts clearly and succinctly added greatly to my enjoyment of a topic that has fascinated me all my life. Thank you!
Date published: 2023-05-02
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Writing and Civilization is the BEST! I bought this because I knew very little about various languages. This filled in many gaps!!! GREAT product! Everyone should get it!
Date published: 2022-12-27
Rated 1 out of 5 by from Was lost after the 2nd episode Lots of big words and terminology. Who is the audience here? I suspect people who are very familiar with the subject, which I'm not.
Date published: 2022-12-24
Rated 2 out of 5 by from For the Genuine Student of Linguistics Unless you are enamored by vowel changes over centuries, fricatives and plosives, reconstruction of ancient words by following academic rules of change--avoid this one. The most interesting chapters for curious non-professionals are the first three. After those you must mine a sea of professional babble to find a gem or two.
Date published: 2022-12-21
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Absolutely one of the best Terrific range of material wonderfully presented by an engaging and deeply knowledgeable professor. By trade I'm a graphic designer, so I had a preexisting interest in letter forms and a personal interest in language. This course hit on all cylinders. Before the course had ended I'd bought and nearly finished Dr. Michael Coe's "Breaking the Maya Code" -- despite having had no prior interest in Maya writing or language. It's worth mentioning that our professor, Dr. Marc Zender, is cited in the Preface to the third edition of this book. I've ordered additional resources, and YouTube (of course) has a variety of videos on the subject that look reputable. How I would love to find a course of this quality that covers in detail the working of the Maya calendars and offers an intro to reading Maya hieroglyphs. A final thought on Dr. Zender's final lecture on the future of writing. I suspect he is right; handwritten material in our culture is already becoming scarce. But what will be the long-term ramifications of purely digital communications? Years ago, as a volunteer at a maritime museum, I had the pleasure of transcribing logs from ships that had made the trip 'round the Horn (I'm old enough to have learned cursive in grade school.) It took just a little time to get into the rhythm of the nineteenth-century handwriting, and then the transcription was a joy -- reading fascinating materials in the hand of the ship's captain who actually experienced the voyage. In the not-too-distant-future, will the reading of cursive material become the purview of specialists? I think, too, of the last letter written by my father's brother, killed in France about six weeks after D-Day. I'm now the third generation to treasure that letter, and I won't be the last. Though I never knew him, the dateline "June 26, 1944. Somewhere in France" never fails to move me. Future generations will lose something of incalculable value when they can no longer hold and read handwritten letters of this sort. But enough... Short version, this course is a gem and I so wish Dr. Zender would make a return appearance.
Date published: 2022-07-29
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Shame this GREAT Course was discontinued! We binge watched these excellent lectures by Dr. Zender in order to complete the course before it is discontinued by Wondrium. The lectures exceeded our expectations because, from each, we learned things we had never known or even considered before. Dr. Zender clarifies how writing systems are classified and described, what is required in order to decipher an obscure writing system, how systems change over time, and how culture and writing systems influence each other. Fascinating information! Dr. Zender's presentations are smooth and engaging. He explains rather complex ideas brilliantly and with very enjoyable humor. We are glad that we were notified that the course is being discontinued after June 8, so we didn't miss it. How sad, though, that other Wondrium customers will no longer have the opportunity to benefit from this GREAT Course!
Date published: 2022-06-09
Rated 5 out of 5 by from A lovely and informative course I'm always fascinated by the historical and I absolutely enjoyed seeing the development of writing in tandem with language from its earliest recordings to the modern-day. I was amused by his tidbit on the development of texting because you see it even more now in 2021. I'm not much for short-cut sentence writing but I always admire the ingenuity. On that note, I've seen Night spelled Nite, though I'm not sure if it's on purpose or people really believe that's how it's spelled. Anyway, I loved his lecture and it is definitely on my list of 'to collect on DVD. If a person is interested in the development of language and writing, this is a great course (no pun intended) to get.
Date published: 2021-11-21
  • y_2024, m_3, d_18, h_10
  • bvseo_bulk, prod_bvrr, vn_bulk_3.0.38
  • cp_1, bvpage1
  • co_hasreviews, tv_4, tr_85
  • loc_en_CA, sid_2241, prod, sort_[SortEntry(order=SUBMISSION_TIME, direction=DESCENDING)]
  • clientName_teachco
  • bvseo_sdk, p_sdk, 3.2.1
  • CLOUD, getReviews, 4.27ms
  • REVIEWS, PRODUCT

Overview

The written word is so central to the way we communicate and live that it can seem as if it has always existed. Yet writing is clearly a human invention-and a relatively recent one at that. Now, in the 24 lectures of Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity, you can trace the remarkable saga of visible speech" from its earliest origins to its future in the digital age. In this thrilling, visually intensive journey, Professor Marc Zender-Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Tulane University and an accomplished epigrapher-whisks you around the globe to explore how an array of sophisticated writing systems developed, then were adopted and adapted by surrounding cultures. You'll visit the great early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Asia, and the Americas, and you'll see how deciphering ancient scripts is a little like cracking secret codes-only far more difficult."

About

Marc Zender

The invention and development of writing is a fascinating subject; it sheds light on human ingenuity, complexity, and even on civilization itself.

INSTITUTION

Tulane University

Dr. Marc Zender is Visiting Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Tulane University and a research associate in Harvard University’s Corpus of Maya Hieroglyphic Inscriptions Program. He earned his Honors B.A. in Anthropology from The University of British Columbia and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Archaeology from the University of Calgary. Professor Zender has published extensively on Mesoamerican languages and writing systems, especially those of the Maya and Aztecs (Nahuatl). He has done archaeological and epigraphic fieldwork throughout Mexico and Central America and currently works as an epigrapher for both the Belize Valley Archaeological Reconnaissance Project and the Proyecto Arqueologico de Comalcalco in Tabasco, Mexico. Professor Zender is the coauthor of Reading Maya Art: A Hieroglyphic Guide to Ancient Maya Painting and Sculpture. He is the director of Precolumbia Mesoweb Press, an associate editor of The PARI Journal, and a contributing editor to Mesoweb, a major Internet resource for the study of Classic Maya civilization. His research has been featured in several documentaries on The History Channel and by the BBC. As a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer in anthropology at Harvard from 2004 to 2011, Professor Zender was a seven-time recipient of the Harvard University Certificate of Distinction in Teaching. He also received the distinguished Petra T. Shattuck Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008.

By This Professor

Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity
854
Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

Trailer

What Is Writing?

01: What Is Writing?

It has been said that writing exists only in a civilization and a civilization cannot exist without writing, but is that accurate? Consider the validity of this statement and examine several of the critical functions that writing has served during the past 5,000 years. Also, get an introduction to pictography and its limitations.

31 min
The Origins and Development of Writing

02: The Origins and Development of Writing

Now that you understand the significance of writing, explore three popular beliefs or myths about where writing comes from and how it developed. Investigate the theories of monogenesis versus polygenesis-whether writing was only invented once or independently in locations around the world-and the reasons writing systems are resistant to change.

31 min
Where Did Our Alphabet Come From?

03: Where Did Our Alphabet Come From?

Most alphabets in use today are derived from one script developed over 4,000 years ago. What accounts for the vast popularity of the Roman or Latin alphabet? This lecture takes you back to ancient Egypt as you investigate the origin of our alphabet and the contributions made to it by the Canaanites.

29 min
The Fubark-A Germanic Alphabet

04: The Fubark-A Germanic Alphabet

Runes are often mistakenly thought to be a semimagical system of signs used for divination and ritual, but nothing could be further from the truth. Look at the real history of the Runic alphabet-also known as the Fuþark -as a case study for why writing systems rise and fall.

30 min
Chinese-A Logosyllabic Script

05: Chinese-A Logosyllabic Script

In continuous use for almost 3,400 years, the Chinese script and its derivatives are used by more than 1.5 billon people around the world. Examine popular myths about Chinese writing as you discover the earliest origins and evolutions of Chinese characters (known as Hanzi), and differentiate between the five sign groups found in Chinese.

29 min
Japanese-The World's Most Complex Script

06: Japanese-The World's Most Complex Script

Borrowed and adapted from the Chinese, Japanese writing is the most complicated script ever devised, yet it's used by more than 100 million people daily. Investigate how and why Japanese writing took on the complex form it has today, why attempts to simplify it have had little success, and why it's unlikely the system will ever be abandoned.

30 min
What Is Decipherment?

07: What Is Decipherment?

The earliest writing systems are known to us only through the efforts of archaeological decipherment. But how can archaeologists be certain that the knowledge is accurate? Learn a bit of history on cryptography and the differences between decipherers and code-breakers as you examine the theory and methodology of decipherment, as well as the evidence it considers.

29 min
The Five Pillars of Decipherment

08: The Five Pillars of Decipherment

First, get an introduction to the five preconditions or "pillars" necessary for decipherment to be possible, paying particular attention to the first pillar, known as script type. Then turn to the typology of the three main categories of signs found across the world-logograms, phonograms, and semantic signs-and consider how these signs are combined in different writing systems.

30 min
Epigraphic Illustration

09: Epigraphic Illustration

As you turn to the second pillar of decipherment-the body of texts available for study-consider how epigraphers find a broad, accurate, and readily accessible corpus to examine. Walk through methods for recording inscriptions, and contrast early and modern illustrations of the Classic Maya site of Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, to see the evolution of epigraphic illustration.

28 min
The History of Language

10: The History of Language

Investigate the importance of language, the third pillar of decipherment, by starting with the story of the decipherment of ancient Sumerian, the language of ancient Mesopotamia. Learn how scholars known as philologists or historical linguists use the comparative method of linguistic reconstruction to compare related languages and reconstruct their shared ancestor.

30 min
Proper Nouns and Cultural Context

11: Proper Nouns and Cultural Context

As you consider the fourth pillar of decipherment, cultural context, see how most epigraphers' efforts begin with the recognition of proper nouns. Then meet the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, and learn how he became the source of much of our information for the cultural context of Old World writing systems.

30 min
Bilinguals, Biscripts, and Other Constraints

12: Bilinguals, Biscripts, and Other Constraints

Napoleon's expedition to Egypt is most celebrated for its discovery of the Rosetta stone, which contains ancient Greek writing, Egyptian hieroglyphs, and demotic script. Consider this icon of decipherment as the first and most famous example of a biscript, and discover just how common such artifacts are around the world.

29 min
Egyptian-The First Great Decipherment

13: Egyptian-The First Great Decipherment

Before Jean-Francois Champollion deciphered hieroglyphic writing in 1822, no one had been able to read a word of Egyptian. Why were Egyptian history and its ancient language and writing system forgotten? How did early attempts at decipherment go astray? Get the answers here as you learn what clues led Champollion to success.

30 min
What Do Egyptian Hieroglyphs Say?

14: What Do Egyptian Hieroglyphs Say?

Join Professor Zender as he reads hieroglyphs that Champollion's efforts helped to recover from oblivion, and see how you too can learn to decipher this blend of phonetic signs, logograms, and semantic signs. Also, consider the interaction of Egyptian writing and culture, including how the practice of damnatio memoriae was used to strike names from official records.

30 min
Old Persian-Cuneiform Deciphered

15: Old Persian-Cuneiform Deciphered

Meet Georg Grotefend, a German high school teacher who made an incomparable contribution to the study of ancient writing and civilization. As you investigate the methods he used to decipher Old Persian cuneiform in the Achaemenid texts of Persepolis, delve into a bit of history on this culture's language and the foundation that was already established for the decipherment.

31 min
What Does Cuneiform Say?

16: What Does Cuneiform Say?

See how scholars revealed a lost world of language and literature when they expanded upon Grotefend's breakthroughs by relating Old Persian to the ancient cuneiform scripts that preceded it. Next, trace the development of writing through 3,500 years of Mesopotamian history, and consider what ancient texts such as The Epic of Gilgamesh can teach us about ancient cultures of this region.

32 min
Mycenaean Linear B-An Aegean Syllabary

17: Mycenaean Linear B-An Aegean Syllabary

How did the decipherment of Linear B change perceptions of ancient Aegean civilization? Why are epigraphers still perplexed by many Linear B spellings? Wade into the discovery, decipherment, and contents of this intriguing ancient writing system-Europe's earliest attempt at writing-and measure it against what you've learned about decipherment of Egyptian and cuneiform scripts.

32 min
Mayan Glyphs-A New World Logosyllabary

18: Mayan Glyphs-A New World Logosyllabary

Investigate whether the features of Old World scripts such as Chinese and Japanese, Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and Linear B apply to the unrelated scripts of the New World. Focus specifically on Yuri Knorosov's decipherment of Mayan hieroglyphic writing and how living in Cold War Russia both helped and hindered his work.

30 min
What Do the Mayan Glyphs Say?

19: What Do the Mayan Glyphs Say?

How can the strikingly similar structural features of the Mayan and ancient Egyptian writing systems be explained? Continue your exploration of how Mayan writing works through a comparison with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Then find out what scholars have learned about ancient Maya civilization from decipherment, and examine a series of fascinating-and even humorous-inscriptions.

30 min
Aztec Hieroglyphs-A Recent Decipherment

20: Aztec Hieroglyphs-A Recent Decipherment

Complex views of Aztec civilization are too often replaced with a one-note narrative that focuses only on the practice of human sacrifice. Look more closely at the system Aztecs invented to write their Nahuatl language, which is still spoken by more than one million modern Mexicans in the form of about a dozen regional dialects.

31 min
Etruscan and Meroitic-Undeciphered Scripts

21: Etruscan and Meroitic-Undeciphered Scripts

Despite decades of effort by many qualified epigraphers, there are still dozens of undeciphered scripts. Turn to the failures of decipherment and the lessons that can be drawn from them by focusing on the attempted decipherment of two scripts-Etruscan and Meroïtic-which recorded languages with no known relatives or descendants.

31 min
Han'gul, Tengwar, and Other Featural Scripts

22: Han'gul, Tengwar, and Other Featural Scripts

Move from writing systems that developed over time to scripts that were deliberately designed by an individual or group, often for use as a universal system. See how these "featural" writing systems betray their intentional design through an examination of examples including Korean Han'gul, Lodwick's Universall Alphabet, and J. R. R. Tolkien's Tengwar and Certar.

31 min
Medium and Message

23: Medium and Message

Whether on papyrus, bamboo, clay, stone, or wood, writing shows an important relationship between medium and message. Explore the influence media have had on writing's shape, direction, and use by delving into the origins of terms used for writing implements, the process for making papyrus, the phasing out of scrolls by codices, and more.

31 min
The Future of Writing

24: The Future of Writing

Will typing replace handwriting? Will e-books make printed books obsolete? Will speech-to-text software replace our need to physically write at all? Join Professor Zender as he speculates about the future of writing based on past developments, from the invention of movable type to new signs and spelling conventions inspired by the QWERTY keyboard.

32 min