It seems odd to me that human societies didn't universally adopt some form of writing system until the European domination of much of the world spread the latin script nearly everywhere.
Although most large human societies (Persia, China, Islamic world, India, Ethiopia, etc) had a well-developed writing system and a literary tradition, there were also many cultures which did not. Lots of sub-saharan African cultures rose and fell with only very limited use of writing.
In North America, despite the example of the Mayans, none of the neighboring or succeeding cultures used writing.
Why? Is writing less useful than it seems?
To me, at least, if a culture has writing, it just makes sense for the culture next door to pick it up - writing is such a versatile tool. Why did it take so long for all cultures to use writing? What am I missing?
Cheers,
Ganesha