References for The Beginnings of the Handwriting Age
Videos for further learning
A great animation about the history of writing. Every information technology professional should reflect on this topic
Sumer was the first great civilization of mankind. They created the first cities and developed written language. But as presented in the course, human societies live continuous cycles of creation and destruction. The Sumerian civilization was eventually destroyed by its success.
Money is an information object that requires authenticity and integrity control. Information security has always been one of mankind’s main concerns
Akkadian cylinders were devices used to identify and authenticate people
The Scribes were the ancestors of IT professionals
Links for further learning
Before the invention of written language, the Sumerians used Bullas (clay bubbles) to record transactions.
Stephen J. Lieberman, “Of Clay Pebbles, Hollow Clay Balls, and Writing: A Sumerian View” https://www.jstor.org/stable/504711
The oldest written language is Sumerian (3500 BC), a civilization that developed in Mesopotamia (where Iraq is located today).
Human society’s need to ensure the security of transactions has led to the development of coins
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The Assyrian seals
Ancient Egypt
Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was concentrated among an educated elite of scribes
Katharina Zinn, “Literacy, Pharaonic Egypt” https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/96773662.pdf
Writing was very important in maintaining the Egyptian empire, and literacy was concentrated among an educated elite of scribes
Ancient Egyptians developed a postal service that dates back to 2000 BCE
David Kahn, The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet https://www.amazon.com/Codebreakers-Story-Secret-Writing/dp/0025604600
Perhaps the oldest text containing modifications made to hide information was written about 4000 years ago in the tomb of KHNUMHOTEP II,
The Atbash code
The Atbash code is a monoalphabetic substitution cipher originally used to encrypt the Hebrew alphabet.