OCR Text |
Show Ancient Contracts Written in Assyrian after 2000 B. C, thousands of clay tablets, that U, wrapped In cotton In museums, throughout the world, show that thej "dotted line" was freely used In Baby-, Ionia nnd that in those ancient Civ-; llizations every sale of land had to; be written to he legal. Before peop!ei knew how to write nil contracts were necessarily oral and. for protection In; case of dispute, witnesses were al-i ways present when a contract was' made. Afler writing was Invented,: the written contract supplemented tha word of witnesses, who were still considered con-sidered very important legally; and their signatures always appear. Th practice of having witnesses to legal papers prepared today comes down' from this period. Boston Herald. |