Text 1
For decades, scholars assumed that early Mesoamerican writing systems, such as the Zapotec script, evolved primarily as administrative tools to record tribute and tax obligations of subject territories. Under this model, the impetus for developing written symbols was strictly pragmatic and economic, tracking agricultural cycles and tribute collections to maintain central authority.
Text 2
Recent excavations at early Zapotec sites reveal that the earliest glyphs occur exclusively on public monuments commemorating military conquests and the divine lineage of rulers, rather than on administrative clay seals. This suggests that writing emerged not as a bureaucratic tool for resource tracking, but as a symbolic medium for political self-glorification and ideological reinforcement, serving to legitimize the ruler's power to the populace.
Based on the texts, match the claims or assumptions from Text 1 with the corresponding counterevidence or alternative perspectives provided in Text 2.
- The primary function of early Zapotec scripts was to document economic tributes and tax records.The absence of early glyphs on administrative seals suggests writing was not originally used for bureaucratic record-keeping.
- The developmental catalyst for written symbols was strictly pragmatic and resource-focused.Early writing emerged as a symbolic medium to reinforce political ideology and legitimize power.
- Central authority maintained control by tracking agricultural cycles and economic obligations.The earliest glyphs commemorate military victories and divine lineages on public monuments.