THE ORIGIN AND ESSENCE OF THE SIGN: COMMUNICATION THROUGH SIGNS IN THE PREHISTORIC AND AGRARIAN ERAS
Abstract
The article examines the sign as one of the fundamental forms of understanding and transmitting information in the history of human communication. Drawing on semiotic, philosophical, and cultural-historical approaches, it analyzes the evolution of sign forms from archaic ways of orientation in the world to more complex systems of social communication. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between the sign, the symbol, object-based and abstract thinking, and to the role of sign systems in the prehistoric and agrarian eras. The author’s hypothesis is that the development of civilization may be described as a gradual complication and acceleration of the ways in which meanings are encoded, stored, and transmitted. In this context, the contemporary stage of communication makes it possible to raise the question of the further increase in the role of compact, visually rich, and rapidly combinable sign units. The article is the first part of a series devoted to the historical dynamics of sign communication and the prospects for its development.
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