Exploring the Origins of Script
Tracing the Evolution of Written Codes
Exploring Writing’s Deepest Foundations
SAPIENCE is dedicated to revealing the prehistoric trajectories of codes, guided by a mission to deepen our understanding of symbolic evolution.
Our mission is to unravel the pathways of code-making in human cultural evolution and to trace the origins of writing.
The project is funded by the FIS grant, financed by the Italian Ministry of Research (Grant no. FIS-2023-00821).
Research Lines
Three main strands of research
Development of Codes in Prehistory
Digging deeper into preliterate creations of code-making, by probing into much earlier phases of symbolic creation and graphic evolution in areas where scripts are originally created.
Early Script Invention
Exploring the trajectories in prehistory that made original inventions of writing in Western Asia, Northern Africa, Mesoamerica and China possible, including potential cases in The Indus Valley and on Rapa Nui. How often was writing invented by humankind?
Inventing Writing Today
Testing how writing systems can be created from zero today, running the first-ever suite of experiments in contexts where participants will develop a set of signs and codes in multi-tiered sociolinguistic contexts.
Decoding Ancient Symbols
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- Innovative Approach
- Expert Insights
- Cutting-edge Research
- Interdisciplinary Analyses
- Global Impact
