Writing Systems & Scribal Traditions

Laura Reiner
Reference Librarian
Goldfarb Library
(781) 736-4689
reiner@brandeis.edu

Contents

• Get research help
• Research guides
• Find background information & maps
• Find books
• Find articles
• Websites
• Citing your sources

Get Research Help

Library home page

Get free research help!
Reference Librarians in Goldfarb Library are available (drop by) Monday-Friday 10-5 and 6-9; Sundays noon-5

Research help by phone, email or live online 24/7 service: click on

Brandeis Research Guides - more help in greater detail

• QuickStart Guide to Research in Anthropology
• In-depth Guide to Research in Anthropology
• In-depth Guide to Art, Architecture & Photography - especially for image searching
• more research guides

Find Background Information

Understand the Terminology

• The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics
• Key Concepts in Language and Linguistics
  Main Library - Reference: P29 .T687 1999
• Dictionary of Linguistics & Phonetics
  Main Library - Reference: P29 .C7 2003
  

Get an Overview of the Subject

• International Encyclopedia of Linguistics
  Main Library - Reference: P29 .I5 2003
• Linguistics Encyclopedia
  Main Library - Reference: P29 .L52 2002
• Handbook of Scripts and Alphabets
  Main Library - Reference: P211 .C25 1997
• Blackwell Encyclopedia of Writing Systems
  Main Library - Reference: Z40 .C67 1996
• Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages
  Main Library - Reference: P371 .C357 2004

Literature Reviews: Broad Articles that Put Your Topic in Context

• Annual Review of Anthropology 1972-2004
  in print: Main Stacks GN1 .A623 1972-2002
• Annual Review of Anthropology 1972-1997 (via JSTOR)
• Biennial Review of Anthropology 1959-1971
  in print: Main Stacks GN1 .A622

• Collins Dictionary of Archaeology
  Main Ref CC70 .C58 1993
• Archaeological Method and Theory: An Encyclopedia
  Main Ref CC75 .A654 2000
• Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
• Oxford Companion to Archaeology
  Main Ref CC70 .096 1996

Maps

• Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
• Times Atlas of the World
  Main Reference Atlas Area G1021 .T55 1999
• Atlas of World Archaeology
  Main Reference CC165 .A85 2000

Find Books

Tips for searching LOUIS catalog:

• use a Subject search to find all the ways your topic may be covered
  example: Cuneiform
  keyword cuneiform > subject Cuneiform writing
  look at the list of subject headings
  follow subject links to find more books on the same specific topic
  you may want to limit to English!
  
  
• use Advanced Search to combine keywords
  use synonyms to find all the ways your topic might be expressed
  example: cuneiform or tablet* or writing or language
  AND babylon*
  
  

WorldCat

• search this nationwide database of library catalogs to find books on your subject that Brandeis doesn't own
• - click on "Libraries that own this item" to see which local libraries have it
• use the free Interlibrary Loan (ILL) service to have the book sent to you
  
• if you are in a hurry, get a BLC card and borrow the book yourself from one of 18 other academic libraries in the area

Indexes - Citations to scholarly articles

• Anthropology Plus
• Anthropology Index Online
• Linguistics & Language Behavior Abstracts
• Abstracts in Anthropology
  Location: Index & Abstracts GN1 .A15
• Art Index
• Social Sciences Abstracts
  
  
• ***how to find the full-text from an article citation***

Full-Text Databases - more convenient, but may have less relevant material

• Academic Search Premier
• Expanded Academic ASAP
• JSTOR - select both Anthropology and Archaeology journals on the Search screen

Authoritative Websites

• SOSIG - Social Science Information Gateway (UK)
  see Ethnology/Ethnography/Anthropology
• Anthro.Net
• Anthropology Resources on the Internet - American Anthropological Association
• Anthropology Resources on the Internet
• Voice of the Shuttle - Anthropology
• ArchNet - Archaeological Research Institute
• Voice of the Shuttle - Archaeology

Cite Your Sources

• American Anthropological Association Style Guide
• Society of American Archaeology Style Guide