Writing and Its Place in Human Cultural and Cognitive Evolution; A Review of The book "The Formation and Development of Proto-Writing in Iran”

The present paper concerns with an assessment and review of the book titled "The formation and development of proto-writing in Iran (from pre-writing to Proto-Elamite)". The book is interesting which makes it one of the fundamental breakthroughs of human cultures and humanity, namely how the formation of writing systems as well as their archaeological origins. More importantly, taking a deeper look, the main concern of the book is to examine theperiods of very beginnings of early writing systems through an attempt to discuss pre-writing stages which have had an immediate effect on the earliest forms of ancient writing. The paper aims to highlight the weaknesses as well as strengths of the book by emphasizing the significance of a deeper analysis of the issues related to why and how of the rise of early writing. It will be suggested that the author, despite his relative surveillance on the main sources of information both archaeological and theoretical about the beginning and evolution of early writing, has failed to treat and explain archaeological, epistemological, and ontological foundations of the topic comprehensively, from the pre-writing levels up to earliest forms of writing in proto-historic Iran. This process would reduce such a substantial subject which could create a basis for bringing up some of the most significant archaeological and epistemological problems on the consequences of writing genesis and evolution just to three relatively non-uniform chapters. The paper shows conclusively the fundamental importance of the evolution of earliest writing systems in Iran, not only on the basis of its economic and social consequences, but also according to its overall influences, on transforming the concept of being-human and its relation to the world.