Earliest Writing in the New World

UC Riverside Anthropologist Karl Taube helped confirm the earliest writing in the New World, carved into the flat surface of a stone block in a in a remote region in southern Veracruz, Mexico. The research would be reported in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Science.

Taube, a professor at UC Riverside for 18 years, was part of a team of scientists who traveled in the Spring to examine 62 hieroglyphic signs, 28 of them distinct elements. The team determined that they were created by the Olmec people no later than 900 BC, based on nearby art.

"This is extremely important because we never recognized this writing system, until this discovery," said Taube. "This is a whole new ball game when looking at the Olmec. We've known they have very elaborate art, and iconography, but this is the first strong indication that they had visually recorded speech."

The initial discovery was made by two archeologists from Mexico, Maria del Carmen Rodríguez and Ponciano Ortíz, but there was some debate about the significance of the find. Taube was one of the experts brought in to make a positive identification.

A full copy of the report is available through the Office of Public Programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Contact: (202) 326-6440 or scipak@@@aaas.org.


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