SCRIBO Seminars 2020

 

The SCRIBO Seminars are the first ever seminar series devoted to the invention of writing, from its earliest records five thousand years ago (from China, Mesopotamia, Central America, Egypt, the Indus Valley, the Mediterranean), to more recent cases such as Easter Island. The relationship between writing systems and icons, semasiography and other symbol-systems (emojis too) will also be a focus, as well as current trends in decipherment strategies and progress in understanding ancient undeciphered scripts.

We will invite experts in linguistics, semiotics, archaeology, epigraphy, anthropology, cognitive studies, and cultural evolution, who will show us how much creativity, originality, and imagination lies behind one of the greatest inventions in the world.

SCRIBO is sponsored by the INSCRIBE (Invention of Scripts and their Beginnings) ERC Project and is held online for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the future (hopefully) it will be held at the Department of Classical Philology and Italian Studies (FICLIT) at the University of Bologna. The language of the Seminars will be English.

 

 

William Boltz (University of Washington) “The Emergence of Writing in Antiquity. Monogenesis or Polygenesis?" (09/12/2020)

On Wednesday 9th December 2020, William Boltz (University of Washington) held our fourteenth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on YouTube. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Jörg Weilhartner (Universität Salzburg) “Thoughts on Linear B Logograms: Creation, Continuation and Variation” (25/11/2020)

On Wednesday 25th November 2020, Jörg Weilhartner (Universität Salzburg) held our thirteenth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Felipe Rojas (Brown University) “Creating contrast in newly invented and rediscovered scripts: the evidence from Armenia” (18/11/2020)

On Wednesday 18th November 2020, Felipe Rojas (Brown University) held our twelfth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel. N.B. Due to copyright reasons, the photos used on these slides are not visible. In case you wish to see any of them, contact us at INSCRIBE ERC Project.

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Stephen Chrisomalis (Wayne State University) "Reading, Writing and Reckoning: Numerical Notation as a Global Modality" (28/10/2020)

On Wednesday 28th October 2020, Stephen Chrisomalis (Wayne State University) held our eleventh eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Giorgia Baldacci (Università Ca' Foscari) "The Phaistos Disc. An Enigmatic Script in its Cultural Context" (14/10/2020)

On Wednesday 14th October 2020, Giorgia Baldacci (Università Ca' Foscari) held our tenth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Alex de Voogt (Drew University) "Five Times the Caroline Islands Script" (30/09/2020)

On Wednesday 30th September 2020, Alex de Voogt (Drew University) held our ninth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Genevieve von Petzinger (University of Victoria) "Animals, Humans and Geometric Signs: Exploring the categorization of Upper Paleolithic art and the origins of graphic communication” (16/09/2020)

On Wednesday 16th September 2020, Genevieve von Petzinger (University of Victoria) held our eighth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Christian Prager (University of Bonn / Textdatenbank und Wörterbuch des Klassischen Maya) "The study of Maya Hieroglyphic writing in the digital era: A work report" (29/07/2020)

On Wednesday 29th July 2020, Christian Prager (University of Bonn / TKWM) held our seventh eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Willemijn Waal (Leiden University) "Older than it appears: New perspectives on the origins of the Greek alphabet" (15/07/2020)

On Wednesday 15th July 2020, Willemijn Waal (Leiden University) held our sixth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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John Baines (University of Oxford) "Pairs of early script forms: contrasting aesthetics in early Egypt and China" (08/07/2020)

On Wednesday 8th July 2020, John Baines (University of Oxford) held our fifth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Philippa Steele (University of Cambridge) "Where Writing Systems Meet Writing Practices" (17/06/2020)

On Wednesday 17th June 2020, Philippa Steele (University of Cambridge) held our fourth eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Massimo Cultraro (CNR / Università di Palermo) "Embriologia del segno: Angelo Mosso (1846-1910) e il metodo della fisiologia clinica applicato alle scritture del Mediterraneo antico" (03/06/2020)

On Wednesday 3rd June 2020, Massimo Cultraro (CNR / Università di Palermo) held our third eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Judith Weingarten (British School at Athens): "Cretan Hieroglyphic: Letting the Cat Out of the Bag" (20/05/2020)

On Wednesday 20th May 2020, Judith Weingarten (British School at Athens) held our second eSeminar SCRIBO on Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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Ignasi-Xavier Adiego (University of Barcelona): "Decifrare una scrittura: Fortuna, intuizione o metodo?" (13/05/2020)

On Wednesday 13th May 2020, Ignasi-Xavier Adiego (University of Barcelona) inaugurated our series of eSeminars SCRIBO su Zoom and live on Facebook. Excerpts of the Seminar on INSCRIBE YouTube channel.

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