Writing and literacy are constantly changing as the world does. However, one thing remains consistent in regards to literacy-it’s in high demand.
Shmandt-Basserat taught us in her article “How Writing Came About” that it was the rise of agriculture in 8000 B.C. Mesopotamia that brought about the earliest known form of literacy. These original materials were clay tens used to track trade and they evolved as the extent of trade increased. As numbers of good grew so did the amount which needed to be tracked. Tokens were enclosed in clay envelopes, but impressions soon had to be impressed on the envelopes in order to recall what was inside without having to destroy the entire envelope. Finally the most recognizable form of literacy when clay tablets replaced envelopes and held impressions to represent trade goods.
One interesting observation is that the concepts that this form of literacy depicted remained constant-the clay materials were continuously used to track and represent trade goods. The goal was the same, the demand for more goods and larger transactions to be recorded therefor literacy had to adapt to encompass larger numbers in a more efficient fashion. Clay lived up to the demand with just a few modifications throughout the years, proving once again that literacy can adapt and meet the rising demands of the world in which it flourishes to the present.
