The Dawn of Writing
Thursday, May 11th, 6pm – 8pm
Scugog Memorial Public Library – Rotary Room
How did mankind first learn to record his thoughts in writing? And why? These are some of the questions we will look at in this whirlwind tour through 4000 years of history as people of the Middle East developed the first forms of communication. Join us as we travel from clay tokens to Mesopotamian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics, and eventually, thank goodness, the alphabet that we use today. Something to think about next time you sit down with a good book, or perhaps an e-reading tablet that is not so different than our ancient ancestors.
Amy Barron received her Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in the field of Mesopotamian history and archaeology. Her doctoral thesis is entitled “Late Assyrian Arms and Armour: Art versus Artifact”. She has excavated in the Middle East and elsewhere and has travelled widely studying the archaeology of various remote parts of the world from Peru to China. She has also worked in the museum field for almost thirty years and presently teaches Museum Studies at Fleming College.