{"product_id":"9780292774865","title":"How Writing Came About","description":"In 1992, the University of Texas Press published Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform and Before Writing, Volume II: A Catalog of Near Eastern Tokens. In these two volumes, Denise Schmandt-Besserat set forth her groundbreaking theory that the cuneiform script invented in the Near East in the late fourth millennium B.C.-the world's oldest known system of writing-derived from an archaic counting device.  How Writing Came About draws material from both volumes to present Schmandt-Besserat's theory for a wide public and classroom audience. Based on the analysis and interpretation of a selection of 8,000 tokens or counters from 116 sites in Iran, Iraq, the Levant, and Turkey, it documents the immediate precursor of the cuneiform script.","brand":"University of Texas Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47165202858224,"sku":"9780292774865","price":15.93,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9780292774865_p0.jpg?v=1769916082","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9780292774865","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}