This volume gathers papers from the first conference ever to be held on the disappearance of writing systems, in Oxford in March 2004. While the invention and d

Writing does not begin and end with the encoding of an idea into a group of symbols. It is practiced by people who have learnt its principles and acquired the t

"The first edition of this Handbook is built on surveys by well-known figures from around the world and around the intellectual world, reflecting several differ

Without writing, there would be no records, no history, no books, and no emails. Writing is an integral and essential part of our lives; but when did it start?