Pictograph is a form of graphical communication

Man is a social being. Communication is an important element in the development of any society. Today, it has become possible to draw information of interest to us from a variety of sources, be it newspapers and magazines, television and radio, or gossip told by neighbors and employees.

But how did the ancient people record information about what was happening around them, what problems worried them? It is always human nature to seek new ways of communicating information. And the first stage on the way to the origin of writing was a pictographic letter.

What is Pictography?

Pictography is the most primitive form of graphics, a way to communicate with each other with the help of drawings. No one knows exactly where and under what circumstances this primitive form of writing originated, but pictographic images depicted on bones, wood, stone are found everywhere: North Asia, West Africa, North America. Until now, such drawings on rocks and in caves have been preserved. With the help of drawings they made inscriptions on tombstones, recorded information about the terms of exchange, about military conflicts and successful hunting.

Pictography is an ancient form of writing that conveys information about objects, actions, events, concepts and their connections with the help of figures, diagrams, visual images, and simple images. On the basis of this ancient form of writing, a descriptive (figurative) letter arose.

The meaning of the word "pictography"

The word "pictography" is of Greek origin: "pictus" (pictus) - "drawing", and "grapho" (grapho) - "I write". Thus, literal translation means "I write with drawings." Indeed, this ancient way of transmitting information uses pictures (pictograms) instead of letters and symbols.

Features of the pictographic letter

Pictograph is a universal way of communication. You do not need to have special knowledge or skills to at least approximately understand the meaning of the message encrypted in the drawings. People who speak different languages and even do not know how to read can easily understand this kind of primitive painting.

The pictogram, as a rule, informs about a particular phenomenon, object or action, and sometimes also about a whole complex of objects and phenomena. It is not a single sound, syllable or word. Ancient people depicted a sequence of drawings to tell about an event.

Decoding pictographic drawings

In ancient times pictographic writing performed a variety of functions. Since the drawings are, first of all, the flight of the author's imagination, there were no established symbols for designating certain objects or phenomena. And at times it is rather difficult to decipher what exactly the ancient people wanted to say. But apparently, the individual tribes still had certain agreements about the designation of individual concepts. So, for example, the Alaskan Eskimos left drawings near their homes that informed the casual guests about the presence of food in the house: the man with arms spread apart said that there was no food in the house, and the man with food brought to his mouth testified that in this House can feed.

To better understand what pictography is, just look at examples of rock art. This picture tells of a brave man who hunted deer. In his hands he holds a bow, next to it is a quiver with arrows.

Quite often there are images of men fighting, holding axes in their hands. People with crossed arms on the hands of many tribes meant barter relations.

Pictograph in the modern world

Visibility and ease of transmission of any information in the images allows the use of pictography in the modern world. Suffice it to recall the signs of traffic, where the image of a knife and fork means that there is a restaurant nearby, and a gas station means a filling station. Pictograms are also used in sports competitions, olympiads - for each sport a man is drawn, performing certain actions. A sign depicting a boot means a shoe shop.

Since pictography is considered an extralinguistic sign system, it is best suited for conveying information that must be understood by people of different nationalities.

What does pictography mean for modern scientists? For them pictographic painting is a science about the methods of fixing by primitive people objects, actions, phenomena of the surrounding world, which existed before the appearance of the usual written language.

Increasingly, modern designers are resorting to the transfer of information through drawings. For a designer, pictography is the art of creating a graphic image that carries a certain information charge. With the help of a single picture (poster, logo), you can convey the meaning of both a minor phenomenon and the global problem of mankind.

Thus, pictography is not only the oldest pre-letter letter system, but also a method of conveying various information in the modern world.