Alphabet Key To History Of Mankind

Author(s): David Diringer
Publisher: Hutchinsons Scientific and Technical Publications

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PREFACE development of writing, particularly of the alphabetic scripts used in the past or in the present day. At the same time, the general sketch of the subiect, the facts presented and much of the interpretation put upon them will, I hope, appeal to students of writing whose presuppositions differ from mine, and to all scholars who are specialists in the individual fields here examined, but not in the subject as a whole. For obvious reasons, no attempt has been made to give an exhaustive account of all the pertinent material, and documentation has been restricted to a minimum. Doubtful material has been eliminated as far as possible, and nothing has been included which is not strictly verifiable from different sources. Speculation has been omitted except in some special cases.
On the whole, I have attempted to treat the history of writing on the same lines as other types of history, but those sections in which too little is known, are presented as a series of unembellished facts. In som instances, in view of the death of original documentary sources, I have not felt disposed to indulge in speculation.
A work of this kind cannot possibly be carried out without troubling many people, and I am therefore glad to acknowledge my gratitude to all those who have helped and supported me. Dr. L. D. Barnett, Mr. R. D. Barnett, Dr. E. Cerulli, Miss H. Herne, Mr. G. F. Hudson, Miss Evelyn Jamison, Mr. A. Master, Dr. M. A. Murray, Mrs. Hilda Splitter, Mrs. Beauchamp Tufnell, Miss Olga Tufnell and Mrs. K. P. K. Whitaker (Miss Lai Po Kan) have read parts of my text in typescript and have made valuable criticisms and suggestions in detail. To all these scholars I am greatly indebted.
Furthermore, I tender my sincere gratitude to Sir Ellis H. Minns for his interest and help, not only in reading the proofs of the book at an early stage, but also for contributing much of his vast knowledge and experience. My thanks must also be expressed to the Society for the Protection
nce and Learning, to the Wellcome-Marston Archäological Research Expedition to the Near East, to the Institute of Archæology, University of London, and to the London School of Oriental and African Studies, who have helped me in one way or another.
It is my pleasant duty to express my deep gratitude to the Scientific and Technical Department of Hutchinson and Company, and especially to Mr. W. H. Johnson for his unremitting care and attention to the host of technical problems which have arisen in the production of this book.
Finally, in view of the special technical difficulties involved, due acknowledgment must be made of the skill and care of the printers, whose interest went beyond their usual function, and the result of their expert and patient counsel appears on every page.
As far as possible I have omitted the diacritical marks which have been devised by modern philologists for use in transcribing various alphabets