This bone stylus, appearing in an elongated and tapered shape and made from real bone dates back to Ancient Rome. It is 10cm in length and 0.7cm wide at its widest point and 0.1cm at its most narrow point. It has a smooth and reflective surface, with a sharp pointy end that would have been used to inscribe on a wax tablet. While the characteristics of the stylus itself could be examined, a much more interesting approach could be exploring the role of styluses in general in Roman society. In Ancient Rome, styluses played an essential role in everyday life. They were writing tools used for a range of different purposes including personal correspondence, keeping of records, and education. The use of styluses was common among both men and women, however, their role in education and record-keeping played a very significant role for elite women in Roman society.
The poses of women in Campanian wall paintings indicate how they aimed to be portrayed (Meyer 2009,). Female figures are sometimes depicted with writing paraphernalia like styli and tablets. Initially, these figures were often assumed to be portraits of real women, highlighting their literacy and possibly their social status. However, these attributes might not indicate a literal portrayal of real women engaging in literate activities (Meyer 2009,
Instead, Meyer argues that these depictions could be more symbolic or mythological, representing Muses or women depicted as Muses. This interpretation suggests that while these images may convey ideals of female literacy and education, they might not necessarily reflect the everyday reality of women’s lives in ancient Rome. In terms of education and status, these depictions could be seen as aspirational or idealized representations, emphasizing cultural values related to learning and creativity. Overall, the depiction of women with styluses and tablets in Roman art can be interpreted as reflecting societal attitudes towards education and creativity, but may not always accurately represent the lived experiences of women in ancient Rome.
The fresco of the Pompeiian couple (Fig. 2) is said to be an indicator of literacy. “This couple, who did not come from the very highest ranks of the Pompeian aristocracy, probably chose to be depicted in this way as a mark of their status—they belonged to the ranks of those who were literate, and they wished to display the fact” (Ward-Perkins, The Fall of Rome and the End of Civilization [2005] 162-63, plate 7.10). The quote serves as evidence that styluses or other writing items were associated with higher status and people wanted to be represented in that light. Could it therefore be inferred that ownership of styluses in Ancient Rome was equal to having more power in society. Therefore, it may have been thanks to styluses that women were able to have a standing, in contrast to many other ancient societies.
On the other hand, using other illustrations of women with styluses, an opposing argument could be made that most depictions of the females are not real, but rather as Muses. Figure 3 shares a similar composition as other illustrations, showing a woman holding a tablet in her left hand with a stylus pressed to her lips. Due to the similarities, it is believed by the author that the drawings were made based on a model. Based on the portraits themselves Meyer discusses the possibility that the women in them are not actually real and not “writing poetry or thinking great thoughts” (Meyer, 2009). Meyer calls it “roleplaying”, and therefore this may act as evidence that women in Roman society did not actually use styluses as often.
In general, regardless of gender, a stylus does symbolize social class and political standing. The materials used to craft styli, such as bone, metal, or ivory, often indicated the social status of the owner; for instance, those made of precious metals or ivory were likely owned by the wealthy elite, while a bone stylus, like the one being examined, was more common among the lower classes. Furthermore, the intricacy of the design on the stylus would also denote status and wealth. In the case of the bone stylus here, it is smooth with no design or markings on it, meaning the person who owned it was likely a lower-class citizen. This is because a bone stylus is easier to make than a metal stylus for instance, “bone is considerably more advantageous than metal.
They can be reduced to the proper form simply by means of chisel and saw and eventually smoothed with an abrasive material” (Michele Cammarosano 2014, “The cuneiform stylus”). Also, education and literacy were both harder to access compared to modern times and therefore were viewed as highly valued qualities in Roman society.
Styluses while often being an object that may be overlooked when examining Ancient Roman history, was actually a very important part of it, with many complex themes. Exploration of those allows us to learn how citizens valued literacy and education, compared to today, and how that affected their social status.
Works Cited
Cammarosano, Michele. “The cuneiform stylus.” Mesopotamia 49 (2014): 53-90.
McDonald, Katherine. n.d. “Education and Literacy in Ancient Italy: Evidence from the Dedications to the Goddess Reitia.” JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26817659?
Mcdonnell, Myles. 1996. “Writing, Copying, and Autograph Manuscripts in Ancient Rome.” The Classical Quarterly 46 (2): 469–91. doi:10.1093/cq/46.2.469.
Meyer, Elizabeth A. 2009 “Writing paraphernalia, tablets, and muses in Campanian wall painting.” American Journal of Archaeology 113, no. 4 : 569-597.
DePauw University Classics World 