The mysterious script of Wadi el-Hol is important because it concentrates our attention on the first of two multidimensional questions about a new adaptation of the brain for reading. First, what makes up an alphabet and what separates it from the vestiges of a previous syllabary, or logosyllabary? Responses to that question prepare us to explore the second, larger question: are there significant intellectual resources unique to the alphabet-reading brain?
