Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would the group of literate people contain enough people also concerned with accurate record keeping? They seem to be relatively distinct and not necessarily overlapping skills or interests. And plenty of record get lost no matter how well they're kept. Fires, floods, disinterest, etc. But for some people such a lineage is like a vanity address. And they will go out of their way to dig up a connection like this and a…
> They seem to be relatively distinct and not necessarily overlapping skills or interests. Actually, literacy is a prerequisite for record keeping.
I think what they meant was that having an interest in literacy doesn't mean someone is also interested in record keeping.