Final answer:
Oral traditions began to be written down to facilitate state administration, ensure accurate preservation over time, and maintain continuity in large societies. States and cultures transitioned from oral to written traditions to embed historical narratives and guide people's beliefs through standardized stories.
Step-by-step explanation:
Three reasons why oral traditions began to be written down are as follows:
- To facilitate state administration such as taxation, law enforcement, and communication with officials, which becomes increasingly essential in complex, agriculturally-based societies.
- To ensure that stories, achievements, and laws are preserved accurately over time and do not change with each retelling, which can happen in purely oral traditions.
- To enable large societies to maintain continuity and share knowledge efficiently across time and space, as direct communication is not always feasible.
With the advent of writing, information could be accurately recorded and transmitted without the need for memorization, facilitating the expansion of complex societies and the preservation of culture. Historically, powerful states such as those in Egypt and Greece saw the transition from oral to written traditions to embed their historical narratives and achievements. Additionally, in the realm of religion and mythology, the need for a standardized version of stories to guide people's beliefs and actions played a significant role in their codification. The reliability of oral traditions, while often questioned by literate societies, was also an important factor that led to the drive to document these narratives and knowledge.