Writing: Theory and History of the Technology of Civilization traces the origins of writing tied to speech from ancient Sumer through the Greek alphabet and beyond. * Examines the earliest evidence for writing in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC, the origins of purely phonographic systems, and the mystery of alphabetic writing * Includes discussions of Ancient Egyptian, Chinese, and Mayan writing * Shows how the structures of writing served and do serve social needs and in turn create patterns of social behavior * Clarifies the argument with many illustrations