Excerpt

Excerpt from The Story of Mankind, by Hendrik Willem Van Loon

THE fifteenth century was an age of great discoveries. Columbus tried
to find a way to the island of Kathay and stumbled upon a new and
unsuspected continent. An Austrian bishop equipped an expedition which
was to travel eastward and find the home of the Grand Duke of Muscovy,
a voyage which led to complete failure, for Moscow was not visited by
western men until a generation later. Meanwhile a certain Venetian
by the name of Barbero had explored the ruins of western Asia and had
brought back reports of a most curious language which he had found
carved in the rocks of the temples of Shiraz and engraved upon endless
pieces of baked clay.

But Europe was busy with many other things and it was not until the
end of the eighteenth century that the first "cuneiform inscriptions"
(so-called because the letters were wedge-shaped and wedge is called
"Cuneus" in Latin) were brought to Europe by a Danish surveyor, named
Niebuhr. Then it took thirty years before a patient German school-master
by the name of Grotefend had deciphered the first four letters, the
D, the A, the R and the SH, the name of the Persian King Darius.
And another twenty years had to go by until a British officer, Henry
Rawlinson, who found the famous inscription of Behistun, gave us a
workable key to the nail-writing of western Asia.

Compared to the problem of deciphering these nail-writings, the job of
Champollion had been an easy one. The Egyptians used pictures. But the
Sumerians, the earliest inhabitants of Mesopotamia, who had hit upon
the idea of scratching their words in tablets of clay, had discarded
pictures entirely and had evolved a system of V-shaped figures which
showed little connection with the pictures out of which they had been
developed. A few examples will show you what I mean. In the beginning a
star, when drawn with a nail into a brick looked as follows: {illust.}
This sign however was too cumbersome and after a short while when the
meaning of "heaven" was added to that of star the picture was simplified
in this way {illust.} which made it even more of a puzzle. In the same
way an ox changed from {illust} into {illust.} and a fish changed from
{illust.} into {illust.} The sun was originally a plain circle {illust.}
and became {illust.} If we were using the Sumerian script today we would
make an {illust.} look like {illust.}. This system of writing down our
ideas looks rather complicated but for more than thirty centuries it
was used by the Sumerians and the Babylonians and the Assyrians and the
Persians and all the different races which forced their way into the
fertile valley.

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Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon

Context of the Source

Hendrik Willem van Loon’s The Story of Mankind (1921) is a popular history book written for a general audience, particularly young readers. It won the first Newbery Medal (1922) for children’s literature, though its engaging style appeals to all ages. Van Loon, a Dutch-American historian, aimed to make world history accessible by blending narrative storytelling, humor, and vivid descriptions. The excerpt discusses the decipherment of cuneiform, the world’s earliest known writing system, and contrasts it with the easier decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs.

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Themes in the Excerpt

1. The Age of Discovery & Human Curiosity

   • The passage begins by framing the 15th century as an era of exploration, mentioning Columbus’s accidental discovery of the Americas and failed European attempts to reach Muscovy (Moscow). This sets up a broader theme: humanity’s relentless quest for knowledge, even when initial efforts fail.
   • The Venetian Barbero’s exploration of Western Asia introduces the idea that some discoveries (like cuneiform) were made but not immediately understood—knowledge had to wait for the right tools and minds to unlock it.

2. The Slow, Collaborative Nature of Historical Progress

   • The decipherment of cuneiform was not the work of a single genius but a gradual, international effort:
     • Niebuhr (Danish surveyor) brings inscriptions to Europe (late 18th century).
     • Grotefend (German schoolmaster) deciphers the first letters (D-A-R-I-U-Sh, the name Darius) after 30 years.
     • Rawlinson (British officer) provides the full key via the Behistun Inscription (mid-19th century).
   • This contrasts with Champollion’s relatively quick decipherment of hieroglyphs, emphasizing that some puzzles take centuries to solve.

3. The Evolution of Writing Systems

   • The excerpt highlights how Sumerian cuneiform (wedge-shaped writing) abandoned pictographs (picture-based writing) for abstract symbols, making it far harder to decode than Egyptian hieroglyphs (which retained visual connections to their meanings).
   • The simplification of symbols (e.g., star → "heaven," ox, fish) shows how language evolves for efficiency, but at the cost of clarity for future decipherers.

4. Cultural Persistence & Legacy

   • Despite its complexity, cuneiform was used for 3,000+ years by Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians, proving its durability as a civilizational tool.

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Literary Devices & Stylistic Choices

1. Contrast & Juxtaposition

   • Easy vs. Hard Decipherment: Champollion’s work on hieroglyphs is called "easy" compared to cuneiform, emphasizing the greater challenge of the latter.
   • Pictographs vs. Abstract Symbols: Egyptian writing retained visual logic (a picture of a bird = "bird"), while Sumerian cuneiform became so abstract that even a star evolved into an unrecognizable wedge.

2. Analogy & Visual Aid (Illustrations)

   • Van Loon describes and visually represents how symbols changed:
     • A star (✵) → simplified to (✧) → eventually a wedge (⌃).
     • An ox (🐂) → reduced to (⚡-like marks).
   • He even projects modern English into Sumerian script, imagining how a letter "A" might look as a wedge, making the abstraction relatable to readers.

3. Irony & Understatement

   • The line "Europe was busy with many other things" is dryly humorous—it downplays centuries of war, religion, and politics that delayed scholarly focus on cuneiform.
   • Calling Champollion’s work "easy" is ironic, since deciphering hieroglyphs was itself a monumental achievement.

4. Narrative Pacing & Suspense

   • The passage builds tension by describing the slow, piecemeal progress of decipherment:
     • Niebuhr’s discovery → Grotefend’s partial breakthrough → Rawlinson’s final key.
   • This mirrors the actual historical process, making the reader feel the frustration and excitement of discovery.

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Significance of the Excerpt

1. Historical Importance of Cuneiform

   • Cuneiform is one of humanity’s earliest writing systems (dating to ~3200 BCE), predating alphabets. Its decipherment unlocked Mesopotamian history, including:
     • The Epic of Gilgamesh (oldest known epic).
     • Legal codes (Hammurabi’s Code).
     • Economic and administrative records of ancient empires.
   • Without Rawlinson and others, much of early civilization would remain a mystery.

2. The Role of Chance & Persistence in Discovery

   • The excerpt shows how knowledge is often recovered by accident (Columbus’s "mistake," Barbero’s reports) and requires patience (decades between breakthroughs).
   • It challenges the "great man" theory of history—progress is collaborative and incremental.

3. Cultural Transmission & Loss

   • The fact that Europe ignored cuneiform for centuries reflects how knowledge can be lost or delayed due to geopolitical shifts, lack of interest, or technological limitations.
   • The simplification of symbols also shows how language evolves in ways that later generations may not easily reverse.

4. Van Loon’s Pedagogical Approach

   • The excerpt exemplifies van Loon’s engaging, conversational style, making complex history accessible and even entertaining.
   • By comparing ancient scripts to modern writing, he helps readers grasp abstract concepts through familiar examples.

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Line-by-Line Breakdown of Key Passages

1. "Columbus tried to find a way to the island of Kathay and stumbled upon a new and unsuspected continent."

   • Context: Columbus sought a western route to Asia (Kathay = China) but found the Americas.
   • Significance: Introduces the theme of unintended discoveries—many breakthroughs (like cuneiform) were found by accident.

2. "Europe was busy with many other things..."

   • Tone: Sarcastic understatement—Europe was not just "busy" but preoccupied with wars (e.g., Hundred Years' War), the Renaissance, and religious conflicts.
   • Effect: Highlights how scholarly progress is often delayed by broader historical forces.

3. "Compared to the problem of deciphering these nail-writings, the job of Champollion had been an easy one."

   • Contrast: Egyptian hieroglyphs had visual clues (a picture of a hawk = the god Horus), while cuneiform was purely abstract.
   • Implication: Some historical puzzles are far more complex than others, requiring different methods.

4. "A few examples will show you what I mean..."

   • Pedagogical Technique: Van Loon uses illustrations and step-by-step explanations to make the evolution of cuneiform tangible.
   • Example: The star → "heaven" transformation shows how meaning expands while the symbol loses its original form.

5. "This system of writing down our ideas looks rather complicated but for more than thirty centuries it was used..."

   • Paradox: Despite its difficulty, cuneiform endured for millennia, proving its utility and adaptability.
   • Message: Complexity does not prevent longevity—some systems persist because they serve a vital purpose.

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Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

Van Loon’s passage is more than a history lesson—it’s a meditation on how knowledge is gained, lost, and rediscovered. By focusing on cuneiform’s decipherment, he illustrates:

• The unpredictable nature of discovery (accidents, delays, collaborations).
• The evolution of human communication (from pictures to abstraction).
• The persistence of cultural achievements across millennia.

His engaging, visual, and slightly humorous style makes a dry historical process feel like an adventure, reinforcing the idea that history is not just about dates and facts, but about the human stories behind them.

Would you like a deeper dive into any specific aspect, such as the Behistun Inscription’s role or how cuneiform compares to other ancient scripts?