The African Origins of Writing-- A Transdisciplinary Exploration

Despite mounting evidence substantiating the antiquity and complexity of African writing systems, the prevailing discourse continues to propagate the myth of African orality (Goody & Watt, 1963). This critique aims to elucidate the manner in which dominant Western paradigms have suppressed the acknowledgement of African literacy and highlight the necessity of reassessing the historical narrative.

This research aims at showing that not only does getting rid of those myths help in our ability to understand humankind history fully, it also helps us envision new cultural-relevant strategies and better understand the cognitive processes at work with different writting systems.