6.10: Concluding Remarks

In the Aegean writing is found on a fairly wide range of materials and in this chapter I have attempted to provide a concise overview of the various forms of writing and materials, as well as of other types of supports that have not been preserved, but may have existed. It is evident that beyond its primary function as a medium for storing and conveying information in a stable form, writing was in many contexts associated with various social and symbolic meanings, relating to power, status and religious expression. These meanings were associated with the nature of the writing itself and the materials used as supports, and with the contexts in which writing occurred. There was thus an interdependence between text types and the materials that the artefacts on which they are found are made of. This is well illustrated by the occurrence of writing on objects made of materials, such as stone or gold, which have been found in ritual contexts. The fact that the durability of these materials was reinforced by an inscription which gave permanence to the act of dedication enhanced the meaning of the artefacts as votive offerings. Conversely, the use of clay tablets, which were cumbersome, but which could also be easily erased and reused, in the palatial administrative systems suggests that permanence of information was of less concern than the need to let people see that a record was being made. In the Aegean case focusing on the physi- cal aspects of writing in relation to the types of material supports rather than on the decipherment and understanding of texts can provide additional insight concerning the social role of writing in societies in which literacy would have been very limited.