Book Title: Alphabet Key To History Of Mankind
Author(s): David Diringer
Publisher: Hutchinsons Scientific and Technical Publications
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INTRODUCTION
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idea being expressed by a little picture or sketch, which we term pictograph. The distinction is important, for the change from embryo-writing to picture-writing implies an immense progress in the art of perpetuating or transmitting thought.
Picture-writings are found everywhere. They are the work of ancient peoples (the prehistoric inhabitants of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Crete, Spain, southern France, and many other countries) in their primitive stage of culture, or of modern tribes (of central Africa, North America and Australia). The bark of trees, tables of wood, the skins of animals, bones or ivory, and the surfaces of rocks, were all, and are still, used for this purpose.
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Fig. 12-Ideographic documents of North American native tribes 1, Indiin expedition 2, Tomb-board of Indian Chief. 3, Letter of a man called TurtleFollowing-His Wife to his son named Little-Man. 4, The French General Maynadier (a man with a hat, indicating a European; the two heads of a deer at the top right-hand side, indicate the name "Many Deer). 5. The winter 1858-59 as indicated in a Dakota (a North American Indian tribe) winter-count": the Dakotas bought in that winter many Mesicau blizkets from John Richard, 6. Message of North American Indian "Bad-Bear (a name) died at a buffalo hunt." 7. Message of a native from Alaska: "No eating is in tent. 8, 1-3. Ideographs from the Delaware "Chronicle" Walan Olum.