Visible_Language.pdf

visible language

Ornamental peg with trilingual text (Old Persian, Babylonian, Elamite).

Persepolis, Iran. Achaemenid period. OIM A29808B (CATALOG NO. 61)

visible language

inventions of writing

in the ancient middle east and beyond

edited by

Christopher woods

with the assistance of

geoff emberling & emily teeter

oriental institute museum publiCations • number 32

the oriental institute of the university of ChiCago

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010932119

ISBN-10: 1-885923-76-7

ISBN-13: 978-1-885923-76-9

Published 2010. Printed in the United States of America.

The Oriental Institute, Chicago

Oriental Institute Museum Publications No. 32

Series Editors • Leslie Schramer and Thomas G. Urban

Series Editors’ Acknowledgments

Rebecca Cain, Thomas R. James, Plamena Pehlivanova, Foy Scalf, and Natalie Whiting

assisted in the production of this volume. Dawn Brennan, at press time,

provided much needed help.

This volume has been published in conjunction with the exhibition

Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond.

Published by The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago

1155 East 58th Street

Chicago, Illinois 60637 USA

oi.uchicago.edu

Front Cover Illustration: Perforated Tag (Catalog No. 41) and Inlay for Small Cosmetic Box (Catalog

No. 72) on an Early Dynastic Lexical List (Catalog No. 56) and Cippus (Healing Statue) (Catalog No. 82);

Back Cover: Arrowhead Inscribed in Proto-Caananite (Catalog No. 91)

Cover Design by Diane Hanau-Strain

Publication of this book was made possible by the generous support from

The Women’s Board of the University of Chicago

Printed by M&G Graphics, Chicago, Illinois

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for

Information Service — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984

∞