Notes without writing? : Non-textual marking systems and problems of their evidence in Ancient Egypt
Abstract
Extensive administration is one of the characteristic traits of the Ancient Egyptian state. Due to relative scarcity of fully literate workforce, one might be motivated to look for evidences of practices that would allow keeping trivial temporary records by lesser means.
For start, the search focuses on calculi as one such potential device. The paper follows up on the discussion of the use of calculi (or tokens) as likely record-keeping device in pre-literary Near East, with the emphasis on the possibility of use of such device in broader geographic area and time period, i.e. as co-runners of scripts.
Eventually it reviews reports of finds of potential calculi from Ancient Egypt, while stressing difficulties in ascribing particular functionality to the objects under discussion.