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The written word is so central to modern life that it can seem as if it has always existed. Yet writing is a relatively recent invention. Trace the remarkable saga of 'visible speech' from its earliest origins to its future in the digital age. In this thrilling journey, viewers will explore how an array of sophisticated writing systems developed, then were adopted and adapted by surrounding cultures.

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Episodes

1. What Is Writing?

30m

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.

2. The Origins and Development of Writing

30m

Now that the significance of writing is understood, 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.

3. Where Did Our Alphabet Come From?

30m

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 episode takes viewers back to ancient Egypt as the origin of the alphabet and the contributions made to it by the Canaanites are investigated.

4. The Fuþark - A Germanic Alphabet

30m

Runes are often mistakenly thought to be a semi-magical 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.

5. Chinese - A Logosyllabic Script

30m

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 the earliest origins and evolutions of Chinese characters (known as Hanzi) are discussed, and differentiate between the five sign groups found in Chinese.

6. Japanese - The World's Most Complex Script

30m

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.

7. What Is Decipherment?

30m

The earliest writing systems are known 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 the theory and methodology of decipherment are examined, as well as the evidence the theory considers.

8. The Five Pillars of Decipherment

30m

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.

9. Epigraphic Illustration

30m

As attention turns 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.

10. The History of Language

30m

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.

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Marc ZenderActor

Writing and Civilization: From Ancient Worlds to Modernity

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