additional notes in this section > [ 2 ]  [ 7 ]

mesopotamia

sumerian language

marks made in clay
cuneiform: abstract shapes to represent something
rebus writing (Paul Rand = IBM)
pictures +/or pictographs = words + syllables w/ same or similar sounds as
object ? pictures used as phonograms (graphic symbols for sounds)

abstract signs = syllables
syllable + syllable = words +/or ideas
similar to our Phonetic system
560 signs = complex system of writing

scribes = select few = elite
controlled systems of order and power
priesthood, government, accounting, estate management

rule of law codified, crimes and punishments

significance?
consistency
codified moral development

brands (identity)
truth (not duplicate)