The Significance and Historical Role of Writing

Key Insight

Historically, writing was considered a key hallmark in the progression from savagery to civilization, alongside agriculture, metallurgy, complex technology, and centralized government. Until the expansions of Islam and colonial Europeans, writing was geographically restricted, being absent from Australia, Pacific islands, subequatorial Africa, and most of the New World except Mesoamerica. This confined distribution led 'civilized' peoples to view writing as a primary distinction elevating them above 'barbarians' or 'savages'.

Writing bestows power on modern societies by enabling the transmission of knowledge with far greater accuracy, quantity, and detail across vast distances and timeframes. It acted as a modern agent of conquest, marching alongside weapons, microbes, and centralized political organization. Commands from monarchs and merchants were conveyed in writing, fleets navigated using written maps, and written accounts of previous expeditions motivated and prepared subsequent explorers, describing potential wealth and fertile lands. The resulting empires were administered with the aid of writing.

While preliterate societies also transmitted information, writing facilitated this process, making it easier, more detailed, more accurate, and more persuasive. Despite its immense value, some societies, notably the Incas, managed to administer empires without writing, and 'civilized' peoples did not always triumph over 'barbarians,' as exemplified by Roman armies facing the Huns. However, the European conquests of the Americas, Siberia, and Australia illustrate the typical recent outcome where writing contributed to conquest.