forgotten writer

[pynchonoid]

Researchers Find Evidence of the Earliest Writing in
the New World
UC Riverside Anthropologist on team confirming that
the Olmec wrote it down back in 900 BC
(September 14, 2006)

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (www.ucr.edu) – UC Riverside
Anthropologist Karl Taube helped confirm the earliest
writing in the New World, carved into the flat surface
of a stone block in a in a remote region in southern
Veracruz, Mexico. The research will be published in
the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Science.

Taube, a professor at UC Riverside for 18 years, was
part of a team of researchers who traveled in the
Spring to examine 62 hieroglyphic signs, 28 of them
distinct elements. The team determined that they were
created by the Olmec people no later than 900 BC,
based on nearby art.

“This is extremely important because we never
recognized this writing system, until this discovery,”
said Taube. “This is a whole new ball game when
looking at the Olmec. We’ve known they have very
elaborate art, and iconography, but this is the first
strong indication that they had visually recorded
speech.”

The initial discovery was made by two archeologists
from Mexico, Maria del Carmen Rodríguez and Ponciano
Ortíz, but there was some debate about the
significance of the find. Taube was one of the experts
brought in to make a positive identification.

A full copy of the report is available through the
Office of Public Programs at the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. Contact: (202)
326-6440 or scipak at aaas.org.

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