Literacy in the ancient Near East

Abstract

Writing and literacy are often associated with the rise of highly complex societies and the state and as such are generally considered to be a hallmark of ancient Near Eastern societies. While such correlations are indisputable, there is little agreement on matters of causality, process, and function, or on the status of literacy in ancient polities. In the ancient Near East literacy was always restricted, and its scope and power were in constant flux. It was an established factor in economic and social interaction. As a marker of status, authority, and control it was embedded in the omnipresent displays of royal writing that were there for all to see, most significantly by illiterates.