"The evolution from evocation to narrative in seal and pottery decoration denotes different cognitive skills—preliterate topsy-turvy glyptic compositions and repetitious pottery paintings were apprehended globally, but literate linear compositions were 'read’ analytically. Art, a unique mirror of culture, reflects the schism that separates preliterate from literate societies. Glyptic and pottery art illustrate with remarkable clarity how the preliterate Near Eastern societies perceived the world circularly and all-inclusively, while literate cultures viewed it analytically and sequentially.”
-Denise Schmandt-Besserat
Sources:
https://old.reddit.com/r/DilettanteryPodcast/comments/nhy2cw/120_the_four_dimensions_of_reality_and_the_two/?