Cs100 Jan 21

Medium/media

Tools to deliver and/or store ideas and/or information.

Historiography

A study of how history has come to be understood; a history of history.

Technological determinism

The idea that technology shapes society and culture in a one-way manner.

Communicative artifact

An object that conveys a message or communicates meaning.

Venus of Willendorf

A 30,000-year-old artifact found in Germany, considered an early communicative object.

Cave paintings

Paleolithic images found in caves, representing early forms of human communication.

Pre-writing

Communication methods used before the development of written language.

Writing system

A method of representing language in visual form; for example, cuneiform developed by Sumerians.

Cuneiform

The first full writing system developed by the Sumerians around 3200 BCE.

Quipu

A method of record-keeping used by the Inca civilization, involving knotted strings.

Oral culture

A culture where knowledge is passed through spoken communication rather than written texts.

Literate culture

A culture where knowledge is documented and communicated through writing.

Abstract capacity

The ability of a system or method to represent complex ideas or quantities using symbols.

Power and knowledge

The relationship between control over information and authority within a society.

Papyrus

An ancient writing medium made from the papyrus plant, lightweight compared to stone.

Sound as a medium

Characteristics of sound include being spherical, immersive, and ephemeral.

Visual perception

Direction-based perception that contrasts with sound's all-encompassing nature.

Sumerian clay tablets

Ancient writing materials used for legal contracts and record-keeping.

Non-verbal gestures

Communicative actions that do not involve spoken language.

Decorated graves

Artifacts from prehistory indicating more sophisticated forms of communication.

Centralized authority

The concentration of power within a single governing entity, often linked to the development of writing.