Rita Roberts has finished her first year of university with a great mark of 83 % = A!Rita Roberts has finished her first year of university with a great mark of 83 % = A! Her first year was devoted entirely to the military sector of the Mycenaean economy. She had to translate scores and scores of Linear B military tablets, and thoroughly master all the supersyllabograms in the military sector.
Rita has already started her second year of three, and she is focusing on the agricultural sector of the Mycenaean economy. In this sector, she will have, not scores, but hundreds of Linear B tablets to translate. Congratulations, Rita.
Tag: Linguistics
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57 Linear A terms deciphered with fair probability from A Glossary of 126 Minoan Linear A words more or less accurately deciphered to date (the largest ever glossary of Linear A) accounting for 24.7 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger’s Linear A texts in phonetic transcription = 510
57 Linear A terms deciphered with fair probability from A Glossary of 126 Minoan Linear A words more or less accurately deciphered to date (the largest ever glossary of Linear A) accounting for 24.7 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger’s Linear A texts in phonetic transcription = 510:
All terms in Minoan Linear A and in Mycenaean Linear B have been Latinized for ease of access to persons not familiar with these syllabaries.
NOTE that several prefixes, internal syllabograms or suffixes in BOLD are shared among words. These are obviously related to one another.
adaro = barley = Linear B kirita
adu = so much, so many, all (persons, things, esp. grain/wheat), referencing all accounts relevant to them. In the case of grains & wheat, adu would refer to all the “ bushel-like” units of wheat accounted for. In the case of the men measuring the wheat, it would appear that they are surveyors or comptrollers. Cf. Linear B, toso, tosa.
adureza = unit of dry measurement (grain, wheat, barley, flour)
akipiete = (in) common, shared, allotted, allotment = Cf. Linear B kekemena ktoina = small plot of land
asasumaise = cattle-driver or shepherd = Linear B qoukoro -or- qorokota
datara= figs overseer -or- fig gatherer
datu = small olives See also qatidate = olive trees = Linear B erawa
dikise = a type of cloth = Linear B any number of types of cloth
dumitatira2 (dumitatirai) = right or inner spindle wheel on one side of the distaff
kapa = follower or (foot) solder = Linear B eqeta
kidata = to be accepted (for delivery to) = Linear B dekesato
kidema*323na = type of vessel (truncated on HT 31)
kireta2 (kiritai) = delivery = Linear B apudosis
kiretana = (having been) delivered (past participle passive) = Linear B amoiyeto
kireza = unit of measurement for figs, probably 1 basket
kiro = owed = Linear B oporo = they owed
kukani = (deep) red wine Cf. Linear B wono mitowesa
kura = large amount of wine = Linear B pithos+ wono?
mitu = a type of cloth
nasi = a type of cloth
nipa3 (nipai) or nira2 (nirai) = figs = Linear B suza
pajare = in pay, hired = Linear B emito
pimitatira2 (pimitatirai) = left or outer spindle wheel on one side of the distaff
pitakase = harvested or field of = Linear B akoro
qajo = double-edged axe or labrys = Linear B dapu
qatidate = olive trees See also datu = small olives = Linear B erawo
qareto = Linear B onato = “lease field”
ra*164ti = approx. 5 litres (of wine)
reza = 1 standard unit of measurement
sajamana = with handles = Linear B owowe
samaro = bunch of (figs, grapes etc.)
sara2 (sarai) = small unit of measurement: dry approx. 1 kg., liquid approx. 1 litre
saru = large olives
sata = a type of cloth
tejare = a type of cloth
teki = small unit of measurement for wine @ 27 1/2 per tereza
tereza = larger unit of liquid measurement (olive oil, wine)
teri = offering -or- being delivered (to the gods) = Linear B dedomena, dosomo, qetea (due to the gods)
tesi = small unit of measurement
tisa = description of pot or pottery = Linear B amotewiya/yo
ti?redu = spice(s) (coriander)
udimi = a type of cloth
usu = a type of cloth
Eponyms:
Ikurina
Kosaiti
Kukudara
Kuramu
Kureju
Makarita
Mirutarare
Qetiradu
Qitune
Sidate
Toponyms:
Almost all the toponyms do not require decipherment as they are either identical or almost identical in Mycenaean Linear B:
Dame
Dawa (Haghia Triada)
Dureza (or a unit of measurement)
Qeka
COMMENTARY:
This Glossary accounts for at least 24.7 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms.
There are 57 terms deciphered with a medium degree of certainty, i.e. probability(60 % to 75 %). These terms thus account for 45 % of all Minoan Linear A terms I have attempted to decipher. They also account for 10 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger’s Lexicon.
As for eponyms and toponyms, I can only claim to have deciphered no more than 10 %, since they are so obvious and since so many of them are almost identical to their Mycenaean Linear B counterparts, in those cases where the latter exist.
All of my decipherments operate on The principle of cross-correlative cohesion on the assumption that terms in Minoan Linear A vocabulary should reflect as closely and as faithfully as possible parallel terms in Mycenaean Greek vocabulary. In other words, the English translations of Minoan words in a Minoan Linear A Glossary such as this one should look as if they are English translations of Mycenaean Greek terms in a Linear B glossary. I have endeavoured to do my best to achieve this goal, but even the most rational and logical approach, such as I take, does not and cannot guarantee reciprocity between Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B terms. It is precisely for this reason that I have had to devise a scale of relative accuracy for terms in this Linear A Glossary.
The best and most reliable Linear B Lexicon is that by Chris Tselentis, Athens, Greece. If you wish to receive a copy of his Lexicon, please leave a comment in Comments, with some way for me to get in touch with you.
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Argentée, Maine Coon, age 13, our mascot!
Argentée, Maine Coon, age 13, our mascot!
She is a brilliant cat with a lovely personality.
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Rita Roberts has written a brilliant essay on THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MYCENAEAN CHARIOT
Rita Roberts has written a brilliant essay on THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MYCENAEAN CHARIOT,
for which she has attained a mark of 94 % out of 100 %. Her essay is to be published in toto on her academia.edu account. Congratulations, Rita. Rita has completed her first year of university for her 3 year Bachelor of Arts in Linear B (BALB). She is well on her way! Let us all wish the highest commendation for achievement she so richly deserves.
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Minoan Linear A terms deciphered with a high degree of certainty thus account for 37 % of all Minoan Linear A terms I have attempted to decipher. They also account for 9 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms
A Glossary of 126 Minoan Linear A words more or less accurately deciphered to date (the largest ever glossary of Linear A) accounting for at least 24.7 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger?s Linear A Liner A texts in phonetic transcription = 510. Terms deciphered with a high degree of certainty thus account for 37 % of all Minoan Linear A terms I have attempted to decipher. They also account for 9 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger’s:
That is a pretty good return.
All terms in Minoan Linear A and in Mycenaean Linear B have been Latinized for ease of access to persons not familiar with these syllabaries.
aka = wineskin (two syllabograms overlaid)
akii = garlic
darida = large vase
daropa = stirrup jar = Linear B karawere
daweda = medium size amphora with two handles 5
ditamana = dittany (medicinal herb)
kanaka = saffron = Linear B kanako
karopa3 (karopai) = kylix (with two handles & smaller than a pithos)
keda = cedar
kidema*323na = type of vessel (truncated on HT 31)10
kireta2 (kiritai) = delivery = Linear B apudosis
kiretana = (having been) delivered (past participle passive) = Linear B amoiyeto
kiro = owed = Linear B oporo = they owed
kuro = total
kuruku = crocus 15
maru = wool (syllabograms superimposed) = Linear B mari/mare
nere = larger amphora size
orada = rose
pazeqe = small handle-less cups = Linear B dipa anowe, dipa anowoto
puko = tripod = Linear B tiripode (100 % certain) 20
qapa3 = qapai = large handle-less vase or amphora
quqani = medium size or smaller amphora
ra2ri = rairi = lily
sajamana = with handles = Linear B owowe
sedina = celery 25
supa3 (supai) = small cup = Linear B dipa mewiyo
supu = very large amphora
tarawita = terebinth tree 28
Eponyms:
Adunitana
Akaru 30
Asiyaka
Danekuti
Daqera
Ikurina
Makarita 35
Mirutarare
Qetiradu
Sirumarita2 = Sirumaritai
Turunuseme
Watumare 40
Toponyms:
Almost all the toponyms do not require decipherment as they are either identical or almost identical in Mycenaean Linear B:
Akanu = Archanes (Crete)
Dikate = Mount Dikte
Idaa = Mount Ida
Idunesi
Kato = (Linear B Zakoro)45
Kudoni = Kydonia
Meza (= Linear B Masa)
Paito = Phaistos ( =Linear B)
Radu = Lato (= Linear B Rato)
Setoiya (= Linear B Seteia) 50
Sukirita/Sukiriteija = Sybrita
Winadu = Linear B Inato 52
COMMENTARY:
This Glossary accounts for at least 24.7 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms.
There are 45 terms deciphered with a high degree of certainty (> 75 %). These terms thus account for 37 % of all Minoan Linear A terms I have attempted to decipher. They also account for 9 % of all intact Minoan Linear A terms in Prof. John G. Younger’s Lexicon.
As for eponyms and toponyms, I can only claim to have deciphered no more than 10 %, since they are so obvious and since so many of them are almost identical to their Mycenaean Linear B counterparts, in those cases where the latter exist.
All of my decipherments operate on The principle of cross-correlative cohesion on the assumption that terms in Minoan Linear A vocabulary should reflect as closely and as faithfully as possible parallel terms in Mycenaean Greek vocabulary. In other words, the English translations of Minoan words in a Minoan Linear A Glossary such as this one should look as if they are English translations of Mycenaean Greek terms in a Linear B glossary. I have endeavoured to do my best to achieve this goal, but even the most rational and logical approach, such as I take, does not and cannot guarantee reciprocity between Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B terms. It is precisely for this reason that I have had to devise a scale of relative accuracy for terms in this Linear A Glossary.
The best and most reliable Linear B Lexicon is that by Chris Tselentis, Athens, Greece. If you wish to receive a copy of his Lexicon, please leave a comment in Comments, with some way for me to get in touch with you.
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Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 1270 Ej 213 with the single supersyllabogram O on it
Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 1270 Ej 213 with the single supersyllabogram O on it:
Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 1270 Ej 213 has the single supersyllabogram O on it. This supersyllabogram O stands for onato = a lease field, as the translation makes perfectly clear. We see here that the shepherd (or sheep owner) Akunirios has 92 rams + another rams on a usufruct lease field. When we speak of a “usufruct lease field” we mean that the shepherd or sheep owner is permitted to use the lease field (generally by his landlord) for his own benefit or personal gain.
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Mycenaean Linear B tablet Ashmolean An1938_708_o with the single supersyllabogram O on it
Mycenaean Linear B tablet Ashmolean An1938_708_o with the single supersyllabogram O on it:
Mycenaean Linear B tablet Ashmolean An1938_708_o has the single supersyllabogram O on it. This supersyllabogram O stands for onato = a lease field, as the translation makes perfectly clear.
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Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 791 G c 101 & the co-dependent supersyllabograms O & KI
Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 791 G c 101 & the co-dependent supersyllabograms O & KI:
On Mycenaean Linear B tablet KN 791 G c 101, we find the co-dependent supersyllabograms O & KI. In Mycenaean Greek, the SSYL (supersyllabogram) O = onato = a lease field & the SSYL KI = kitimena = a plot of land. When these two SSYLS are combined, they become co-dependent, each one delimiting the other. Hence, on the second line of this tablet, O KI + the ideogram for “rams” or “ewes” (we are unsure which, since the ideogram is right-truncated) means “an unknown number (right-truncated) of sheep -or- rams -or- ewes on a settled plot of land in a lease field.” When two or more co-dependent supersyllabograms are used with the ideograms for “sheep”, “rams” or “ewes”, both must be nouns. Adjectives are never used for associative co-dependent supersyllabograms, which is precisely what O + KI are on the second line. Associative SSYLS never define the ideogram(s) with which they are linked, since the ideograms themselves already mean exactly what they mean, in this case, “sheep”, “rams” or “ewes”. What associative SSYLS do is modify the ideograms with which they are associated.
NOTE that all supersyllabograms in Mycenaean Linear B were handed down from Minoan Linear A, which invented them.
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Mycenaean Linear B accounting list
Mycenaean Linear B accounting list:
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Cretan hieroglyphic seals (Middle Minoan I & II, ca. 2100-1700 BCE)
Cretan hieroglyphic seals (Middle Minoan I & II, ca. 2100-1700 BCE):
On the first of these seals there appear 4 ideograms (?) which appear to be precursors of Minoan Linear A syllabograms, but there is no way of knowing whether or not this is the case.
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Minoan Linear A ra2ri = rairi = lily (100 % accurate)
Minoan Linear A ra2ri = rairi = lily (100 % accurate):
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Minoan Linear A words: 7 types of cloth on tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada) compared with 7 types of cloth in Mycenaean Linear B
Minoan Linear A words: 7 types of cloth on tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada) compared with 7 types of cloth in Mycenaean Linear B:
My, my, what a co-incidence? Or is it? 7 types of cloth are apparently tallied on tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada), at least if I have translated the “correct” words corresponding to cloth types in Minoan Linear A (although I am fairly certain I have come close to the mark), and these can be compared with 7 types of cloth in Mycenaean Linear B,
although in the latter case I may have missed 1 or 2 types of cloth. At any rate, no one knows what kinds of textiles/cloth even the words in Mycenaean Linear B refer to, so what does it matter if the 7 Minoan Linear terms for cloth/textiles do not align with their supposed Mycenaean Linear B counterparts? It does not matter one jot, since we will never know what the cloth/textile types are in either syllabary. So take your pick. One is as good as the next.
The main point is that we have apparently catalogued 7 major types of textiles/cloth in Minoan Linear A with a fairly high degree of certainty ( > 60 %).
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NEW link added: ANCIENTSCRIPTS.COM at the bottom of the page
NEW link added: ANCIENTSCRIPTS.COM at the bottom of the page: You can click on it here:
but once this post is passed, you will have to scroll down to the bottom of the page to:
Friends & Links (Bottom left)
and then click on the site’s name:
This is an extremely comprehensive site on ancient languages, Occidental and Oriental.
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Boolean chart of The 5 Principles of Cross-correlative Retrogressive Extrapolation from Mycenaean Linear B to Minoan Linear A
Boolean chart of The 5 Principles of Cross-correlative Retrogressive Extrapolation from Mycenaean Linear B to Minoan Linear A:
Here we see a Boolean chart of The 5 Principles of Cross-correlative Retrogressive Extrapolation from Mycenaean Linear B to Minoan Linear A. Before explaining the Boolean chart, it is highly advisable for us to review the 5 Principles of Cross-correlative Retrogressive Extrapolation from Mycenaean Linear B to Minoan Linear A, which you can read in full here:
The 5 principles applicable to the rational partial decipherment of Minoan Linear A:
for without a thorough understanding of these 5 principles, you will be unable to follow the novel methodology I have devised for the partial, not total, decipherment of Minoan Linear A à partir de (extrapolated from) Mycenaean Linear B.
Once you have carefully read over these 5 principles, the Boolean chart above should become pretty much transparent. For instance, the Minoan Linear A word puko is a perfect match for the Mycenaean Linear B word tiripode (= 100%). Likewise, the Minoan Linear A term sedina is a perfect match with Linear B selinon = celery. That is why the overlap between the two terms is illustrated as a circle within a circle (since displaying only 1 circle would not get the idea across clearly). Since Minoan Linear A qareto is very likely to correspond to Mycenaean Linear B onato = lease field, the overlap is > 75 %, and is mapped out as Sets A B & C completely overlapping in the Boolean chart. Likewise, saru = small olives in Minoan Linear A > 60 % and is again charted as Sets A B & C overlapping. On the other hand, tisa in Minoan Linear A, which apparently = amotewiya = description of pottery? in Mycenaean Linear B (though we can never be certain of this), comes in at a scalar value of < 50 %, mapped out in the Boolean chart as Sets A & B or A & C only.
In our Minoan Linear A Glossary of 110 terms,
36 terms clock in a scalar value of > 75 %
58 clock in with a scalar value of > 60 %
16 clock in with a scalar value of < 50 %
TOTAL = 110
Thus, 84 or 76 % of all the terms in the Glossary of Minoan Linear A are either extremely reliable ( > 75 %) or reasonably reliable ( > 60 %).
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Are we near the end of the line with our Minoan Linear A Glossary?
Are we near the end of the line with our Minoan Linear A Glossary?
Are we near the end of the line with our Minoan Linear A Glossary? With 110 terms, if we are not already there, pretty close. I can only squeeze so much juice out of an orange.
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Minoan Linear A tablet HT 12 & qatidate = Mycenaean Linear B erawa = olive tree(s)
Minoan Linear A tablet HT 12 & qatidate = Mycenaean Linear B erawa = olive tree(s):
On Minoan Linear A tablet HT 12, we find the word qatidate, which in all likelihood is the equivalent Mycenaean Linear B erawa = olive trees. This decipherment is substantiated by or earlier decipherment of datu = small olives. Notice the direct correlation between qatidate and datu.
This raises the scalar value of both of these translations to > 60% (very reliable).
This is term 110 I have deciphered in Minoan Linear A, more or less accurately (in this case, more).
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Minoan Linear A tablet HT 90 & the eponym/personal name = Sirumarita2 = Sirumaritai
Minoan Linear A tablet HT 90 & the eponym/personal name = Sirumarita2 = Sirumaritai:
On Minoan Linear A tablet we find Sirumarita2 = Sirumaritai, which very much looks like an eponym/personal name.
This is term 109 in Minoan Linear A I have deciphered more or less accurately.
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Minoan Linear A tablet HT 19 & dadumata = Linear B sitokowo = grain/wheat measurers?
Minoan Linear A tablet HT 19 & dadumata = Linear B sitokowo = grain/wheat measurers?
Does dadumata on Minoan Linear A tablet HT 19 = Linear B sitokowo = grain/wheat measurers? It is a long shot, but at least I am willing to take it. The likelihood that this decipherment is correct is < 50%.
This is term 108 in Minoan Linear A I have deciphered more or less accurately (in this case, less).
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Minoan Linear A tablet HT 40 the terms nudu*331 = Linear B rino? = flax? & kidata = Linear B dekesato = to be accepted (for delivery)
Minoan Linear A tablet HT 40 the terms nudu*331 = Linear B rino? = flax? & kidata = Linear B dekesato = to be accepted (for delivery):
On Minoan Linear A tablet HT 40 the term nudu*331 appears to mean Linear B rino? = flax, while kidata = Linear B dekesato = to be accepted (for delivery). Given that there are 201 bushel-like units, which is a moderate amount, I have interpreted nudu*331 as signifying “flax”. Flax is not as common as wheat or barley. Since the participle kidata terminates in the ultimate “ta”, it is not a past participle passive. Past participle passives in Minoan Linear B end in “na”, for instance, kiretana = “having been delivered”. Of these two words, nudu*331 is the less certain (<50% scalar value, not necessarily reliable), whereas kidata is more certain (probably 60%+ a reasonably reliable scalar value).
These two new terms are nos. 106 & 107. Decipherment is more or less certain.
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