History + Literature & Media: Hindsight Needs Corrective Lenses Flashcards
petroglyphs
rock carvings/engravings made by removing part of a rock’s surface
first ones created 40,000 years ago
oldest found in Iran
found in every region, most prevalent in Siberia, Scandinavia and Africa
Nsibidi
system of pictogram
indigenous to the Ejagham peoples of Southeastern Nigeria
several hundred symbols (mostly deals with love affairs)
primarily used by the Ekpe Secret Society nowadays
colonialism decreased the prevalence of this system
spread to Cuba and Haiti, where it was developed into Veve and Anaforuana symbols
Quipus
recording device, strings from Andean South America
Incas used it for data collection, monitoring of tax return, calendrical information, and organization of troops
numeric info encoded as knots, base 10 positional system
almost all were destroyed during the Spanish civil War
Dispilio Tablet
wooden tablet, contains inscribed markings that are more than 7000 years old
contains the oldest known text in existence
currently indecipherable
found in 1993 during George Hourmouziadis’ excavations of Dispilio
Greece (Neolithic lakeside settlement) at the bottom of Lake Kastoria
was damaged due to oxygen rich environments when first found
Oracle bones
pieces of animal bones and turtle shells
Ancient China, used in divination
questions were carved & heated through a metal rod -> cracks due to thermal expansion
diviner interprets the pattern of the crack -> deciphers the “message from their ancestors”
questions were written in ink (Zhou Dynasty) -> degraded, currently indecipherable
Cyclons
cylindrical stone marked with incisions
initial purpose = magical / religious function
new purpose = food production, communication
some are thought to contain the oldest maps in existence
oldest datable one = 20,000 years old
geoglyphs
large scale image/drawing on land
fully visible from above
was also popular during the Land Art Movement
most famous one = Nazca Lines in Peru, white lines along the desert
