1 CAVE WALLS TO ALPHABETS BIRTH OF GRAPHICS: Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with

1C AV E WA L L S T O A L P H A B E T S

BIRTH OF GRAPHICS:

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

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WHAT ARE GRAPHICS?

Graphics are a visual representation of something intended.

• Visual representation is drawing, sketching, carving, painting or otherwise showing something intended.

• Visual representation depicts people, places, things, idea, concepts, emotions, images or abstractions.

• Alphabets and writing are forms of visual

representation. Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights

reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

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WHERE DID VISUAL REPRESENTATION BEGIN?

• Some of the first known (oldest) visual representations are found in caves in Lascaux, Spain.

• It was the first visual documentation.


Photo from http://viewoncanadianart.com/

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CAVE WALLS FOR AN ARTBOARD!

• A cave dweller was inspired to pick up a rock, decaying stick or perhaps charcoal and draw images of things he or she had seen.

• Many of the drawings on cave walls depict animals and hunting – and in some cases, life in general.

• Whoever was compelled to draw probably had no idea how impactful or far reaching their actions would be!


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NEXT WERE PETROGLYPHS

• Writing, sketching or drawing on Rock


Photos from en.wikipedia.org

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CIVILIZATION BEGINS… MESOPOTAMIA CONTRIBUTIONS

The beginning of civilization is believed to be in Mesopotamia.

• Means “land between rivers.• Modern day Iraq, Kuwait & part of Syria• Often called the “Cradle of Civilization.”• First organized society.


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NEEDS ARISE AND ARE MET THROUGH VISUAL REPRESENTATION

Inventory

Laws

Some important areas:


Ownership & Authority

Cylinders with unique design signatures were used to show authority, grant permission, seal or mark items.

This clay tablet holds a grid which records the amount of silver in the palace.

Hammurabi’s Code of Law -which recorded all laws on a stone stele and placed it in a public place. These laws were to be followed by the society.

History

Photo from British Museum

Photo from commons wikipedia.org

Photo from en wikipedia.orgPhoto from British Museum

Everyday life was recorded and documented. Religious edicts were written down. Kings and battles were recorded.

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LET’S COUNT AND WRITE!

• With thriving villages, societies needed ways to label and identify grains and goods.

• They needed ways to exchange products and services fairly.

• They needed ways to consistently record history and information.


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FOR RECORD KEEPING

• Simple symbols and counting systems developed. Lines and marks had specific meaning for goods and amounts.

• Numbers began to evolve for fair exchange and accounting.

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with

permission.

http://historicconnections.webs.com/

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POPULATIONS GROW & ALPHABETS EMERGE…

Hieroglyphics

Greek


Cuneiform

It used a wedge like impression to make letters for sounds and to represent words.

Egyptian form of writing that used pictures. Most often seen in tombs or on containers.

The beginning of the alphabet as we know it today. Many letters are still used.

Chinese

Photo from British Museum Photo from en wikipedia.org

Photo from simple.wikipedia.org/

Photo from http://www.buzzle.com/

Used calligraphic strokes to indicate thoughts and ideas. There is very close relationship between meaning and structure of characters.

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WE HAVE AN ALPHABET; NOW WHAT?

• Scribes – Early writers and record keepers• Substrates – any writing surface• Scrolls – Early parchment that rolled out and rolled up• Papyrus – Leaves of plants flattened, dried and woven

into substrate• Codexes – Parchment that was gathered, stitched and

combined book-like• Rosetta Stone – a stone with the same text written in

three languages that helped unlock early alphabets

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights reserved.

Images and other multimedia content used with permission.

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THE ARTS!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_ancient_Rome

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UCB_Ancient_Greek_Musical_Notation.png

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SUMMARY

The impact of visual representation on our modern day world becomes very clear. The world would not be nearly advanced as it is, and quite possibly wouldn’t exist at all after several thousand years, without a way to document or communicate.

Because of visual representation, we have education, law, history, medicine, technology as well as poetry, art, and music.



Documents

1 CAVE WALLS TO ALPHABETS BIRTH OF GRAPHICS: Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2014, All rights reserved. Images and other multimedia content used with