Write a 5 page essay on Middle and Near Eastern Literatures.Additionally, some people believed that writing was invented to preserve literature. However, an analysis of early writings suggests that th

Write a 5 page essay on Middle and Near Eastern Literatures.

Additionally, some people believed that writing was invented to preserve literature. However, an analysis of early writings suggests that the invention was meant for other purposes other than as preservation of literature. Early writings as depicted in Hebrews, Indian, Persian and Arabic early writings contains commercial, legal, and political information, which is a clear manifestation that early writings were not meant to preserve literature per se. This paper will explore the extent to which early writings as contained in the writings of the ancient Hebrews, Indian, Persian and Arabians is a prove that writings were not invented for preserving literature, rather contains commercial, administrative, legal and political information. Pictograms were the earliest forms of writings by the Sumerians in which the signs resembled the object it depicts, according to Puchner (9). The pictograms were used as a means of communicate vital message about taxes and crops. The depiction of crops on the pictograms was an expression of the economic activities the Sumerians practiced. The taxes, on the other hand, were an administrative expression. This clearly shows that writings were not invented to preserve literature rather depict the economic and administrative works of the Sumerians. The administrative table developed by the Sumerians is also a proof that writing was not invented for preserving literature. The administrative tablets were used to record taxes of different types of livestock such as sheep, goat, and cattle (Puchner et al. 16). For instance, the top of a typical Uruk III administrative tablet lists 21 fatted Cows, a lamb and 2 sheep. The administrative tablets during the reign of Urukagina (2370 B.C.) show records of offerings of livestock and grains at the temple. The writings and records contained in the tablets were purely administrative rather than literary. Woods, Emberling, and Teeler also noted that about 90% of archaic text corpus was administrative in nature (37). In this regard, they noted that the texts were economic figured into a complex bookkeeping system consisting of expenditures and receipts of animals and goods. According to Woods, Emberling and Teeler, the tablets were used for identifying the commodities, their quantities, the institutions and individuals involved in the transaction (37). The records provided details of activities that were involved in the Eana, the Uruk’s central economic unit and sacred precinct. This provides a clear proof that writing was not invented to preserve literature, rather had many other purposes such as for keeping administrative information. The writings of ancient Hebrew also provide a proof that writing was not invented to preserve literature, rather for spiritual and administrative purposes. The Hebrew language, according to Benner, dates back to early 10th century BCE, when it appeared in the form of Geze Calendar (6). However, the first sign of Hebrew writing is found in Genesis 4:15 where God places a ‘mark’ on Cain. Several other pre-flood writings have been discovered in Kish city (Strong 11). Most of these tablets have spiritual meanings rather than just a literary preservation. Genesis chapter 5 gives a genealogical account from the days of Adam to Noah where it becomes evident that all the names are Hebrew.