Record making and record keeping in early societies How records began : representation and persistence Marks of ownership and sealing Records accounting and the emergence of writing in ancient Mesopotamia Records and writing in other early societies : Egypt the Aegean China and the Americas Creating and storing written records and archives : the proliferation of records in South West Asia Egypt and Greece Orality and literacy : confidence in records Orality record making and social action Concluding thoughts : archival science and early records.