This work is an important contribution to the multi-disciplinary study of literacy, narrative and culture, arguing that literacy is perhaps best described as an ensemble of socially and historically embedded activities, of cultural practices. It suggests viewing written language, producing and distributing, deciphering and interpreting signs, as closely related to other cultural practices such as narrative and painting. The papers of the first and second parts illustrate this view in contexts that range from the pre-historical beginnings of tracking signs’ in hunter-gatherer cultures, and the emergence of modern literate traditions in Europe in the 17th to 19th century, to the future of electronically mediated writing in times of the post-Gutenberg galaxy. The chapters of the third present results of recent research in developmental and educational psychology. With contributions by some of the leading experts in the field, the book makes the point that there is no theory and history of writing that does not presuppose a theory of culture and social development. At the same time, it demonstrates that every theory and history of culture must unavoidably entail a theory and history of writing and written culture. The book brings together perspectives on literacy from psychology, linguistics, history and sociology of literature, philosophy, anthropology, and history of art, and addresses these issues in plain language not coded in specialized jargon. The volume addresses a multi-disciplinary forum of scholars and students of literacy, narrative and culture.