In integrational theory, communication is treated as ‘including all processes in which human activities are contextually integrated by means of signs’ (Harris, 1996: 11). Because humans have bodies, it means that a person is always situated, and that the integration of activities is always uniquely contextualized. The signs made to implement a communication process do not pre-exist particular episodes, but are their results. Writing, as a form of communication, involves the integration of activities in relation to the material and spatial installation of the written sign. The written marks have a (relative) permanence that allows them to be re-read, but the reading itself is impermanent and non-reproducible. Thus, each reading involves the creation of new, unique signs. In this essay I will discuss the diversity of activities integrated in reading and illustrate the difficulties involved in distinguishing writing from non-writing, through an attempt made in the 19th century to read markings on the rock at Runamo in Sweden.

在整合理论中，交流被视为“包括人类活动通过符号在上下文中进行整合的所有过程”（Harris，1996：11）。因为人有身体，所以这意味着一个人总是处在位置，并且活动的整合总是唯一地与上下文相关。实施沟通过程的标志并不预先存在特定的情节，而是其结果。作为交流的一种形式，写作涉及与书面标志的材料和空间装置有关的活动的整合。书面商标具有（相对）永久性，可以重新阅读，但阅读本身是永久性的且不可复制。因此，每次阅读都涉及创造新的，独特的标志。