Papel estratégico de los satisfactores

The small geometric clay objects of the Neolithic Near East onwards are claimed to symbolise specific goods, and to be the direct precursors of writing (Schmandt- Besserat 1996, 1992). The shape, along with the size and decorative elaboration of

“complex tokens” c. 4000 BC onwards it is claimed, represented a specific quantity, and/or commodity. As such, clay objects held, maintained and could transmit detailed information. This aspect of Schmandt-Besserat’s theory is widely accepted, however the additional claim that the earliest written numerical symbols, those incised onto archaic clay tablets in the latter half of the 4th _{millennium BC in the Near East were}

symbolic representations of clay objects, carrying the same meaning as the three dimensional objects they imitate is more contentious. This second part of Schmandt- Besserat’s argument is also unattested by current evidence of the earliest written pictograms, archaic symbols and full cuneiform symbols (found at Uruk and Susa, see section 2.4b ii above). Writing is complex, capable of holding information as a permanent record; information related to any topic, and in any format from simple counts and totals, to extended literally prose. The historic example of census recording above highlights how with the addition of containers, the colour coding of them, and

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their placement in specific rooms and locations, plain, identical pebbles were able to record and maintain large quantities of complex information. Similarly, the summary of prehistoric notation systems which follows highlights the ability of simple sets of objects, such as Neolithic clay objects, to retain information. This information could then be “read”, verified at a later point in time, even by a different person, from a different settlement.

TALLIES

The aim of almost all known, non-written notation systems appears to have been to record simple numbers, counts and calculations. Tallies are widely recognised as the earliest counting aid, which in addition to calculation, had the capacity to immortalise the information they held. Created by applying notches onto an object or surface, they could be portable, thus transmit information to an infinite audience. Yet due to their form, tallies are limited in the quantity of information they could hold, and the maximum number that can be reached. Before their creation, and likely, alongside tally systems, simple, unassuming, small portable objects may have been used to aid counting, in one-to-one correspondence (i.e. pebbles or sticks). Yet whilst for example twenty people present at an event could be counted by placing twenty sticks, one by one, onto a pile, the sticks would not be capable of forming a permanent record; once moved from position, the record would be lost.

The discussion of tallies forms an integral part of Schmandt-Besserat’s argument with

important implications for the later introduction and use of clay objects in the

Neolithic. Palaeolithic tallies are presented by Schmandt-Besserat as the first of “three

stages of data processing”: tallies to record time, clay objects to record agricultural produce, and pictographic tablets evolving into full writing to record information related to the full range of manufactured goods (Schmandt-Besserat 1992a: 166-67). As one system falls out of use due to the lack of need, it is replaced by another Schmandt- Besserat argues. However, on closer analysis of the appearance, distribution and use of tallies, it is clear that their distribution in both space and time, along with their functional use is far more complex than Schmandt-Besserat claims. She also assumes that hunter-gatherers in the Near East and elsewhere only needed to record time, using lunar notations to plan events and gatherings (Schmandt-Besserat 1992a: 167); claiming that as they shared produce in reciprocal face-to-face exchange, and had resources in abundance, they had no need for counting or recording their resources.

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Neolithic, supposedly due to the needs of the first farmers to record their produce, are inexorably linked to her claims that pre-Neolithic hunter-gatherer communities did not have these needs, and only recorded time as seen in their tallies. This is not supported by archaeological or ethnographic evidence. Furthermore, an examination of tallies highlights that to the contrary, seemingly basic systems and objects are capable of recording very complex information. This brief survey also highlights the diverse nature of tally use, valued by a wide variety of peoples and communities practicing a range of subsistence strategies and lifeway’s; literate and non-literate, mobile and sedentary, settled farmers, hunter-gatherers, urban and rural. Thus an entire section of

Schmandt-Besserat’s thesis is immediately discredited by this discussion.

(i) Early Tallies

Tallies, largely defined as a stick or other surface, onto which notches or simple marks are made to keep count of something, have been found all over the world, from the Middle Palaeolithic to modern times (Henshilwood, d' Errico & Watts 2009; Robinson 2007: 54; d'Errico et al. 2003: 4-6, fig. 2 p. 5, pp. 31-33). They are indeed often thought to refer to the recording of lunar notations, acting as calendars, but are also commonly used to record transactions and commodities. Tallies are found in many regions and time periods. They were not necessary replaced by the introduction of writing, nor is their use always restricted to the simple recording of counts. Arguably the earliest tally is the Blombos Ochre (figure 2.36), thought to be 77,000 years old (Sy & Tinker 2006: 110). On close observation, this Middle Palaeolithic ochre slab has been clearly smoothed down on one side, on top of this was carved a cross hatching pattern, deliberately created with a point, rather than a knife or other cutting tool. A number of other pieces of ochre with similar patterns, have also been found in the Blombos Cave, at the southern tip of Africa (Henshilwood, d' Errico & Watts 2009; d'Errico et al. 2003:

4, 6, 31). Henshilwood believes that a “fundamental turning point in the evolution of

human cognitive abilities and cultural transmission was when humans were first able to store concepts with the aid of material symbols and to anchor or even locate

memory outside the individual brain” and that the Blombos Ochre along with the other

engraved ochres from Blombos Cave represent “ the earliest manifestations of this ability, on which all human cultures are based” (d'Errico et al. 2003: 31). Exactly what these finds recorded is uncertain, but they prove that from very early on in the prehistory of man, there was the ability to record thoughts in an abstract form. Indeed Sy and Tinker (2006) go as far as to suggest that the Blombos Ochre was a primitive tally count (2006: 110). Tallies increase in frequency and distribution during the

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Palaeolithic, being found all across Europe as well as Africa in the Upper Palaeolithic.

One example, dated to 20’000 years ago is the Ishango Bone. This central African tally

(modern Democratic Republic of Congo), with its “sophisticated mathematical

markings”, is often interpreted as demonstrating the development from a simple to a complex tally accounting system (figure 2.37) (Sy & Tinker 2006: 106).

The Blombos Ochre and the Ishango Bone are just two examples of Palaeolithic tallies. Their existence demonstrates that hunter-gatherers were capable of, and had the

necessity to record things more complex than lunar cycles. The Ishango Bone’s

markings have been interpreted as an advanced, early recording system-with each set of notches representing a number (Sy & Tinker 2006: 114). Detailed mathematical analysis of the three rows of notches shows an advanced mathematical understanding far more advanced than Schmandt-Besserat credits Neolithic peoples of the Near East in her discussion of counting (Sy & Tinker 2006: 115). According to Sy and Tinker, the Ishango Bone demonstrates an understanding of a base 10 number system, like ours

today, as well as a recognition of prime numbers and an understanding of “the

importance (for reproduction) of the lunar calendar” (2006: 115). Far removed from

Schmandt-Besserat’s simplification of the numerical abilities of pre Neolithic peoples of the Near East, as well as their lack of need to record anything but moon sightings, Palaeolithic evidence from Africa suggests that from these early times, people used tallies to keep records of their activities, and to record quantities of subsistence goods (perhaps evening detailing the nature of the specific item). Goods were obtained not only by hunting and gathering, but also exchange, capture, distribution; and later agriculture and production (Sy & Tinker 2006: 116). Non-subsistence goods and materials were also acquired, thus far from leading simple lives, surviving hand to mouth collecting any resources they came across, Sy and Tinker suggest these early, highly mobile Palaeolithic people were intelligent, keeping track of produce in order to sustain the lives of themselves, their families and the tribe (2006: 116).

(ii) Complex Tallies

Tallies are found in many regions of the world. Aside from Africa, numerous examples have been recorded from Palaeolithic Europe, such as the engraved eagle bones from La Placard (near Charente, Western France). These bones, dated to the Upper Palaeolithic c. 13,500 BC, exhibit a series of neat notches, interpreted as recording the lunar cycle (figure 2.39) (Robinson 2007: 54). Similarly engraved bone and ivory sticks from Upper Palaeolithic Europe have been recovered and analysed by Alexander

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Marshack (1991). Twenty years of analysis of the Tai Plaque, an engraved rib bone discovered in 1969 in the Grotte du Tai (Aquitaine Region of southwest France) has led to the conclusion that “the notations represent a cognitive form of visual problem- solving and structuring” (Marshack 1991: 25). Compositional analysis suggests the bone recorded non-arithmical observations of the lunar year, and probably also solstitial observations (figure 2.40).

A comparative six-sided calendar stick from eastern Siberia, dated to the eighteenth century AD appears to have had a near identical function (figure 2.41) (Marshack 1991: 32-33). Made from ivory, the stick is hexagonal in section, measuring 17.8 cm long by 2.6 cm wide. It’s six faces are each divided into two, creating twelve surfaces onto which intricate carvings were made in rows (figure 2.41) (Marshack 1991: 23-33). Belonging to the reindeer herding Yakut, the stick functioned as a complex calendar, recording in detail, each of the twelve months individually on it’s twelve surfaces (Marshack 1991: 32). Within each month’s section, are drawings or pictograms of indigenous seasonal events, tribal festival days, and Russian Orthodox holidays and saints days, thus this tally records time, yet in complex fashion, noting much more than mere sightings of the moon (Marshack 1991: 32). A similarly complex astronomical calendar belonging to the Winnebago Indians of modern Wisconsin, USA, dating to the

early 19th _{century AD supports the notion that tallies are used by complex peoples, and}

to record time in a complex fashion (Marshack 1985). The calendar stick is said to be the most sophisticated problem solving artefact known in North American ethnology, and acts as an astronomical calendar (Marshack 1985: 30). The calendar stick records twelve months per year, with an additional month every three years to bring the calendar into phase with the solar tropical year; thus it documents a precise observational lunar year (Marshack 1985: 27).

The finds above show that although it is generally agreed that most early tallies functioned to record time, they were used in many regions of the world, over a huge time period, by various different communities. They do not necessary die out of use with sedinterisation and farming, and can record far more complex information than mere moon sightings alone. Therefore, the appearance of clay objects c. 8,000 BC as claimed (Schmandt-Besserat 1992, 1996) was not necessary for the supposed need to record more complex information. Tallies would have been capable of aiding the counting and recording of set units of specific commodities in the way that Schmandt- Besserat proposes Neolithic clay objects functioned. The appearance of clay objects in

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the Neolithic therefore, cannot be attributed to the supposedly new, and immediate administrative needs of early farmers alone. This view is supported by the continued use of tallies by sedentary communities in Europe, into the medieval period and beyond. This fact, as well as the co-existence of European tallies and written records, demonstrates their ability to carry complex information. It also demonstrates that two divergent administrative recording systems may operate side by side, like clay objects, bullae and incised clay tablets in the proto and early historic Near East. One system did not necessarily have to replace the other.

(iii) Later European Tallies

In literate, Western Europe, wooden tallies formed an integral part of the financial system for centuries. They were public records, in use from the medieval period into the 19th _{century (c. AD 1100 to AD 1834) (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 45-46; Robinson}

2007: 54). European tallies of this time period “originally were, and always remained

receipts for payments” (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 53). Used by the Exchequer and in private transactions within literate society, tallies acted as a reminder to a literate or illiterate person to act or perform a task (Robinson 2007: 54). European tallies of the historic period consisted of a wooden stick, into which notches were cut (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 74; Robinson 2007: 54). The notches formed as simple system, with different width and depth notches standing for different but set amounts, easily recognisable to all (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 74; Robinson 2007: 54). Explanatory notes were often written on the side of a tally, recording the date and place of transaction. The notes also referred to the notches directly, distinguishing groups of notches by price or commodity. The notches on a tally held purely numerical information, therefore the commodities being referred to could not be identified by the notches alone (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 72, 74). Instead of writing notes directly on the side of a tally, labels containing similar information could be attached to the tally itself. In addition, groups of tallies from related transactions were often stored together, in leather bags (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 66).

Tallies were extremely popular in many parts of Medieval Europe, with private tallies used universally in the 13th _{and 14}th _{centuries AD (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 68). Their}

use did begin to decline with the increased use of parchment and paper receipts, yet the two were commonly used in tandem, and large collections of wooden tallies stored in leather bags alongside paper and parchment records are known (figure 2.43) (Jenkinson & Ellis 2003: 68-69). Near identical tallies are reported as being in use in

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many world regions in recent times, as far afield as the Torres Strait Islands (just north of Australia’s Queensland coast). The islands are home to sedentary agriculturalists, similar in culture to the indigenous peoples of Papua New Guinea (Viteles 1947). When recalling a the 1898 expedition to the islands, Charles Samuel Myers refers to his attempt to gain possession from a local man, of his “tally of love conquests, a bundle of

sticks in which each such episode was scored by a notch cut in them” (Viteles 1947:

177). This tally or kupe as it was locally known, was created in the same form as contemporary tallies of Europe, yet used to record a very different type of transaction. The storage of collections of tallies in leather bags parallels the storage of clay objects together in containers, as evidenced at 5th _{millennium BC Tell Abada and other}

prehistoric Mesopotamian sites (see above). The dual use of tallies and written receipts bears a striking resemblance to the dual use of clay objects, stored in bullae, and the markings (clay object impressions, seal impressions and/or writing) on the outer surface of the bullae. Above all, the example of Medieval European tallies can be used to argue that in the Near East, the advent of writing did not necessarily make clay objects redundant. Depending on their exact function, clay objects, in opposition to Schmandt-

Besserat’s claims, could have remained valued tools, used alongside written records, in a complex administration of the early historic period. Indeed their continued presence at sites in the Near East, alongside written documents, and many thousands of years after the widespread adoption of writing supports this. The simple, immediately recognisable numerical recording system of tallies, ensured their continued value and use, alongside and often above writing. Indeed, even in 1925, whilst preparing his publication on the archive of medieval tallies held in the Public Record Office and the Birmingham Free Library, UK, Sir Hilary Jenkinson states in reference to the use of

tallies “we know that it has not entirely disappeared even in our own time” (Jenkinson

& Ellis 2003: 68). Perhaps the clay objects of the Near East were similarly valued.

KHIPU

Schmandt-Besserat’s hypothesis relies on the assumption that tallies, and likewise

“simpletokens” of the prehistoric Near East cannot transmit complex information. She

interprets ”tokens” as more sophisticated than tallies, being able to symbolise specific

quantities and perhaps even commodities, but their information storage potential is

viewed as limited. Evidence in the form of knot and string records or Khipu (or Khupu)

however, disputes this claim. Although, in form, Khipu is dissimilar to the Neolithic Near Eastern clay objects, its mere existence and use makes us aware that a perceived

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simple system can be capable of recording, storing and transmitting highly complex information. Clay objects therefore, if they did act as administration aids, need not have necessary only recorded simple numerical information in the Neolithic period.

Translated literally as “knot” or “knotrecord”,Khipu were widely used by the Andean,

pre-Columbian (pre 16th _{century AD) civilisations native to the area of South America}

now known as Peru (Quilter & Urton 2002: 3). Khipu were groups of knotted strings,

often dyed in a variety of colours, and were used by the Inca Empire for recording information (Quilter & Urton 2002: 3). Whether or not Khipu acted as a writing system, able to store any manner of information as may be expressed in speech is debated. Yet

many scholars do argue that Khipu had no restrictions. It could be “read” like a text,

able to record and transmit all varieties of information including histories, poems and narratives alongside economic accounts (Quilter & Urton 2002: xvi, 3).

There are no direct translations of Khipu documents, or explanations of how they worked. Indeed all of our information relating to the use of Khipu comes from the Spanish Conquistadors. As such, Khipu are still not fully understood. A small number of

documents written by Spanish chroniclers contain transcriptions of a Khipu’s content

as recounted by a native. However the accompanying Khipu is never evidenced for comparison. Importantly no Khipu narratives by a native of his own Khipu account exist, and as the Spanish conquerors often refused to accept such a system could be capable of recording any information at all, all accounts must be treated with caution (Quilter & Urton 2002: 3). The AD 1602 account of Diego Avalos y Figuerua records an encounter he had with a native carrying a bundle of Khipu. On interrogation, the native proclaimed that his Khipu contained information listing all Spaniards that had travelled on that particular royal trade route, including what each man had wanted, bought and done (Quilter & Urton 2002: 10). Though not fully understood, the example of Khipu proves the potential of a seemingly simple item, a knotted string, to record, perhaps