| Impact_of_the_Dravidian_Culture_on_the_Writing_Systems_in_India_ A paper which examines the development of scripts in India. |
| Indian_Alphabet_Comparison A comparison of written Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali and Gujarati by Eden Golshani. |
| Multilingual_Computing Links to sites of interest in multilingual computing and other closely related areas of scripts and languages as well as a guide for finding language fonts on the Internet. |
| Naxi_Dongba_Pictographs_Software Commercial software for writing in Dongba, a pictographic writing system. Also includes some background information on Dongba. |
| The_Numbers_in_Various_Writing_Systems Numbers 1-10, in syllabaries, consonantal scripts, and sign. |
| The_Origin_of_Writing Post-structural analysis of the non-metrical image writing used by the Aboriginal Peoples of North America during pre-Columbian times, a system based upon material production within a visual context. |
| Orthography_Examples Samples of non-Latin writing systems, including Cyrillic, Aramaic, a syllabary, and a phonetic system. |
| A_Philippine_Leaf A description of literacy and writing systems in Pre-Hispanic Philippines. |
| A_Short_Presentation_and_Overview_of_the_Rune_alphabet,_the_Futhark Contains a good discussion of the changes in the Norse Runic alphabet (the Futhark) over time. |
| A_Study_of_Chinese_Writing_Systems Academic paper which examines Chinese orthography . |
| Symbols Encyclopedia of western signs and ideograms. More than 2,500 signs, from ideograms to graffiti, arranged into groups according to their graphic characteristics. Their histories, uses, and meanings. |
| Truetype_fonts_by_Curtis_Clark Downloadable Truetype fonts of ancient alphabets. |
| World_Writing_Systems Features linguistic basics of writing systems, attempts of spelling reforms, social and political aspects of many languages' orthographies. |
| The_Bauu_Institute Specialises in social science research, publishing, and other needs; offering services in research, database design and maintenance, graphic design, GIS mapping, and other areas for the social science |
| Institute_for_Social_and_Economic_Research_and_Policy_(ISERP)_at_Columbia_University Columbia University, NY,USA. Information on centers, projects, seed grants, workshops, events, and research fellows at the Institute. |
| Ivo_Pilar_Institute_of_Social_Sciences Information about the institute, governance, activities and emloyees. Zagreb, Croatia. |
| Max_Planck_Institute_for_Human_Development A multidisciplinary research institute dedicated to the study of processes of human development and education and their evolutionary, social, historical, and institutional contexts. Features news, pub |
| Scottish_Centre_for_Research_on_Social_Justice The Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice [SCRSJ] is based jointly at the University of Glasgow's Urban Studies Department and the Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research at the Univer |
| Stanford_IIS_Initiative_on_Distance_Learning Program created by the Institute for International Studies, Stanford University to promote the development of social science in post-Communist countries. |
| Österreichische_Kulturdokumentation A non-university institute for applied cultural research and cultural documentation based in Vienna. Site provides selected publications in PDF, links for current projects, and event information, as w |
| The_Annual_R&M_Symposium_(RAMS) Annual reliability and maintainability conference. Includes a message from the chair, on-line registration, and a program brochure. |
| ASQC_Reliability_Division The reliability part of the American Society for Quality Control, a quality improvement organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA. Includes general information and how to join. |
| Design_Analytx_International Provide tools to do probabalistic systems design analysis. Includes information on consultancy and seminars. |
| Electronics_Quality_and_Reliability_Center A division of Sandia National Laboratories. Includes information on the center as a whole, training offered, ways to work with the center, and related links. |
| Equipment_Reliability_Institute A specialized engineering school that focuses on solving hardware reliability problems. |
| INEEL_Center_for_Risk_and_Reliability Demonstrates improved Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) and Probabilistic Safety Assessment (PSA) methods and tools to PRA/PSA practitioners. |
| International_Reliabilitiy_Physics_Symposium Conference in April, 2002. Includes information on hotel, tutorials, poster sessions, and a history of the event. |
| Maintenance_and_Reliability_Center An R&D group at the University of Tennessee. Includes information on their mission, internship program, staff, continuing education and related links. |
| Quanterion_Solutions Provides reliability engineering consulting services aimed at improving system reliability. |
| Reliability_Analysis_Center Offers data, information, software, and consulting in reliability, maintainability, supportability, and quality engineering. |
| Reliability_Analysis_in_Mechanical_Engineering_Design A summary and the first two chapters of a PhD thesis. |
| Reliability_Center,_Inc_ Offer root cause analysis training, reliability consulting, root cause analysis facilitations, FMEA facilitations, and reliability assessments. |
| Reliability_Direct,_Inc_ Provides e-commerce solutions for electric motor condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and reliability products as well as other centrifugal and reciprocating machinery. |
| Reliability_Engineering_Snapshot A monthly illustrated collection of actual failure analysis case studies in the fields of corrosion, lubrication, machine design, material properties, people, and vibration. |
| Reliability_Standards_and_Handbooks Contains a list of standards with their number and description. |
| Reliability_Tools Details a range of prediction and modelling programs. |
| Reliability¨Magazine A trade journal dedicated specifically to machinery reliability, the predictive maintenance industry, root cause failure analysis, reliability centered maintenance, and CMMS. |
| Reliabilityweb_com Comprehensive site containing news, reviews, directories of products and services, and related information of interest to end users and suppliers of industrial plant and machinery reliability systems |
| Relibility_Enhancment_Methodology_and_Modelling REMM, a research project investigating methods and models for enhancing aircraft electronics reliability. |
| Rome_Laboratory_Reliability_Engineer\'s_Toolkit Engineer's toolkit. Includes background information. |
Most Ancient
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Last Update: 9 September 1997
The symbolism and
iconography of writing systems found throughout the ancient
world are fascinating, but none more than those that evolved in
ancient Mesoamerica.
Developing
independently of Mediterranean or Asian cultures, there are several
different types of pre-conquest writing that
represent a unique intellectual achievement in this part of the
new world.
GBonline
This image is from page 59 of the Dresden
Codex
The Maya Codices
Dresden Paris Madrid
Grolier
Maya Hieroglyphic Writing preserves a vast body of
material, and is the only one thought to represent a fully
enunciated phonetic script. Found on wall carvings, lintels,
stela, portable carved objects, thousands of ceramic vessels,
and
four important manuscripts (some say three), it is the most
widely studied. (I understand that analyzing and deciphering
the Dresden Codex was one of Richard Feynman's most enjoyable pastimes.)
The Books of Chilam Balam and the Ritual of the
Bacabs (old manuscripts written in the Yucatec Mayan
language using european characters) have come to the forefront
in recent research. There are probably thirty or so Mayan
language groups, each with their own dialects. The carved
inscriptions are thought to be Chol or some variant
proto-mayan language, while the codices are thought to
represent spoken Yucatec mayan.
There are fewer than twenty codices that are written
in a purely native style on bark paper or animal skin. The
greatest number of these are from Oaxaca and are of the
Mixtec writing system
(pronounced "Mish tek"). They primarily convey genealogical,
ritual or mytho-historic information, but they have allowed
scholars to reconstruct political history going back to the
11th Century or earlier.
There are also large sheets known as Lienzos or
Mapas that continue the picture writing tradition that
have been painted in the Mixteca area through this century.
Alfonso Caso firmly established the geneological nature
and a preliminary chronology for these documents. A revised
chronology introduced by Emily Rabin almost two decades ago is
finally to be published by her through Vanderbilt
University in the near future.
The Codex Nuttall is available inexpensively from Dover
Books in a facsimile of Zelia Nuttall's original
publication earlier this century. In the Realm of
Eight Deer conveys the recent research of Bruce Byland
and John Pohl and is available
from the University of Oklahoma Press.
The painted manuscripts of the enigmatic Borgia Codex Group probably
are of Mixtec origin, but it is clear that they contain
information relating to the Mexica (pronounced "Mesh ee ka")
and their ritual cult of Huitzilipochtli (pronounced... well,
you're on your own), so they may be of Mexica origin.
In any event they're collectively representative of the Mixteca-Puebla
"international" style. The Borgia Codex itself (an incredible
document) is available inexpensively ($14.95!) in a drawn
reconstruction from Dover Books. The documentation and study
of the Borgia group codices will be a key area for content at
this web site. Any contributions are encouraged.
The word Aztec
was invented by a 19th century writer; perhaps the word was
used to sanitize or distance the historical people from their
progeny. The people encountered by Cortez were known as the
Mexica, leaders of the Triple Alliance. They were the
most powerful of many ethnic groups that made the valley of
Mexico their home.
We know a great deal about them from the early
ethnographic works of Sahagun and other Spanish
priests. There are several documents that have spanish
commentary and nahuatl glosses (and sometimes other
languages) accompanying picture writing used by the
natives.
An excellent source of Mesoamerican titles is Howard
Karno Books. They have a good selection of hard to
find items & GREAT service.
[ Exploring | Mesoamerica | GB Personal Info | Biblio | Websters ]
Mail to: gbonline@prodigy.net
1996 - GBonline [] Last Update: 9 September 1997
