Mycenaean Linear B tablets on terms and activities related to olive oil as templates for cross-correlation to Minoan Linear A tablets

Mycenaean Linear B tablets on terms and activities related to olive oil as templates for cross-correlation to Minoan Linear A tablets:

In order to determine how to rationally assign meanings of terms and activities related to olive oil to Minoan Linear A tablets, we must rely on Mycenaean Linear B tablets as templates for cross-correlative retrogressive analysis to corresponding Minoan Linear A tablets of the same activities and terms relative to olives and olive oil. Otherwise, sensible decipherments of the latter are frankly impossible. For instance, these three Linear B tablets from Knossos clearly illustrate how terms and activities dependent on olive oil in Mycenaean Linear B must without exception be taken into consideration if we are ever to decipher the same terms and activities with any degree of accuracy on corresponding Minoan Linear A tablets:

What possible value can these 3 tablets in Mycenaean Linear B serve as indicators of similar terms or activities on Minoan Linear A tablets?

For instance, Minoan Linear A tablets HT 121 & 123+124 from Haghia Triada cannot be deciphered at all without cross-correlative retrogressive analysis with as many Mycenaean Linear B tablets as conceivably possible. At the present juncture, I am as yet unable to decipher it, but cross-correlative analysis with as many activities and terms related to olive oil in Mycenaean Linear B may eventually provide me with the means to achieve a reasonable decipherment of it. The operative word is may, and even that is a long shot:

For the time being, the words kirita2 (kiritai) and kitai are utterly undecipherable. I have not the faintest idea what they mean. It is remotely possible that kitai may mean “delivery”, given that the number of olive oil (whatever) is 30. So conceivably we might be dealing here with the delivery of 30 units or amphorae of olive oil. But then the problem is, how do we know what the 30 units of olive oil refer to, in the absence of any word on the tablet other than kitai related to olive oil? On HT 123+124, kitai might conceivably mean “delivery” or it might mean something else, such as “amphora”, which could make sense in the context, where it could possibly mean 30 “amphorae” of olive oil. But we cannot have it both ways. In the absence of a second word referencing olive oil, it is impossible for kitai alone to mean either “delivery” or “amphorae” both or God knows what else simultaneously . So we are trapped in a paradox which cannot be resolved. On the other hand, another “definition” of kitai may possibly be in reach, but only after we have translated a number of Linear B tablets, in order to compile a list of potential alternative terms or activities which might possibly serve as templates for the potential decipherment of “corresponding” words on Linear A tablets. Possibly, but not probably, and more likely than not, never.

The challenge is formidable. I have my work cut out for me. Moreover, the great number of permutations and combinations besetting any interpreter make the challenge much more intimidating.

An undecipherable Minoan Linear A tablet from Malia

An undecipherable Minoan Linear A tablet from Malia:



I just discovered online this Minoan Linear A tablet from Malia. The likelihood of it ever being deciphered is very low, as it contains an extremely rare syllabogram, possibly DWI?QE, but no one is sure. Andras Zeke of the Minoan Language Blog notes that it is otherwise found only on Linear A tablet KN 2f31 (Knossos).

What does the word teri mean in Minoan Linear A?

In spite of the fact that Andras Zeke of the Minoan Language Blog attributes to the Minoan Linear A word teri the name of a type of ram on Linear A tablet PH 31, his translation cannot stand, because the same word is used in association with olive (oil) on another tablet, HT 91 (Haghia Triada). So the term is clearly independent of either association. On the other hand, the context of both these tablets is susceptible of assisting in determining what teri might mean. We should definitely take into account that only 1 ram and 1 (amphora?) of olive oil is mentioned on each of these two tablets. So the context severely limits our interpretation(s), since only large numbers of rams and olive oil admit of more liberal translations. I found that I had no real choice other than to consult Chris Tselentis’ superb Linear B Lexicon, in order to extract any meaning(s) that might possibly mesh with the Minoan word teri in light of the fact that only 1 reference is made to a ram and an amphora of wine. Under the circumstances, the only practicable translations I could come up with were: [1] just delivered (as it is certainly conceivable that just 1 of either of the above could have been “just delivered” to a farmer or possibly to a priest or priestess, possibly for sacrifice [2] as an offering, again to a priest or priestess, possibly for sacrifice or [3] being delivered, once again in the same context.

This brings the number of Minoan Linear A words we have deciphered, more or less accurately, to 65.

How far can we go deciphering Minoan Linear A? And now for the bad news

How far can we go deciphering Minoan Linear A? And now for the bad news:



I have managed to decipher 63 Minoan Linear A words, more or less accurately. As long as any Linear A tablet contains ideographic aids to assist us in our decipherments, we can usually decipher Minoan words directly associated with ideograms and logograms, the meaning of which we already know. That is precisely how I have managed to get this far.  But how much further can we go? In the total absence of such aids, there is little or no chance for us to decipher Linear A tablets with only words on them. This is a serious stumbling block to any comprehensive decipherment of Linear A. It is nothing short of a Catch-22. This is the brick wall we are up against in any attempt to decipher the majority of Linear A tablets.

Common Minoan Linear A ideograms and logograms

Common Minoan Linear A ideograms and logograms:



The figure above illustrates the most common Minoan Linear A ideograms and logograms. These greatly assist in the process of decipherment of Minoan words. Without their presence on Minoan Linear A tablets, there is little likelihood for the decipherment of vocabulary on them.

Andras Zeke’s definitions for “rams”, “ewes ”, “billy goats” & “nanny goats” (Minoan Language Blog. The fault is in our stars

Andras Zeke’s definitions for “rams”, “ewes ”, “billy goats” & “nanny goats” (Minoan Language Blog. The fault is in our stars:

On Minoan Linear A tablet PH 31,

Andras Zeke provides us with 5 definitions for “rams”, but none for “ewes ”, while he highlights one each for “billy goats” & “nanny goats” (Minoan Language Blog):

The four nomenclatures he attributes to “rams” are teri, rurumati, amidao, madi & patada. But as the old saying goes, you cannot have it both ways, or in this case, you cannot have it five ways. It is possible that one (and only one) of these words refers to young “rams” (lambs), but that still leaves us with the conundrum, which 1 of the 5 references “rams” and which young “rams” (lambs), if the latter even occur! There are just too many permutations and combinations to make any single definition for “rams” accessible.

On the other hand, he attributes just one definition each to “billy goat” (patane) and “nanny goat” (tujuma), which looks neat on the surface of things. But this scenario does not take into account the possibility, even probability, that other words are teamed up with “billy goat” and “nanny goat” on other Linear A tablets, even if none appear on any other extant Linear A tablets. Since, in the absence of God knows how many lost Minoan Linear A tablets, we cannot know for sure whether or not other terms are conjoined with “billy goat” and “nanny goat” on the lost tablets, there is no way of our knowing whether or not additional words are adjacent to the ideograms for “billy goat” and “nanny goat” on those. In other words, other words may very well have been teamed up with these ideograms on lost tablets, but we shall never know. It is for this reason that I can neither consider the word patane as meaning “billy goat” nor tujuma as standing for “nanny goat”.

But the situation is further compounded by another critical factor, which is that the corresponding ideograms for all of these farm animals, sheep, rams, ewes, billy goats and nanny goats recur hundreds of times on Linear B tablets, yet never with any definition for any of them! All we see on any of these hundreds of tablets are the ideograms for each animal (masculine and feminine), never their definitions. And here on Linear A tablet PH 31 we find the same ideograms (which appear slightly differently in Linear A). So that leaves the question wide open. Just what can the words teri, rurumati, amidao, madi & patada, associated with rams, and patane for billy goat plus tujuma for nanny goats, possibly refer to? The situation is further complicated by the fact that never more than 5 and more often than not only 1 of each of these words attached to their respective ideograms appear on this tablet. This is in contradistinction with the total numbers of any these animals on practically all Linear B tablets, ranging from lows of scores to highs of hundreds. What is going on here? Why the huge discrepancy? Take for instance the three Linear B tablets below. On the first (KN 1301 E j 324),

78 rams and 22 ewes are mentioned, on the second (KN 928 G c 301),

the numbers of rams and ewes are truncated, but you can be sure that there are lots of them, while on the third (KN 791 G c 101),

10 ewes & 105 rams are referenced, with the last ideogram on the second line truncated, so that we cannot even identify whether or not it is masculine or feminine. But here again, we can rest assured that the number of rams or ewes following the last ideogram runs at least to the scores.

There is no way of accounting for this huge discrepancy in the number of ewes and rams on Linear A tablet PH 31 (1 to 5) and the much greater numbers on the three Linear B tablets. Let us not forget that the totals for rams and ewes on almost every Linear B tablet run to the scores and hundreds, and even to the thousands for rams. I am thus left with no alternative but to conclude that the words on the Linear A tablet are not definitions for rams and ewes, and that even though there is only one “definition” (taken with a grain of salt) each for billy and nanny goat, that does not preclude the possibility and even probability that other words related to the same agricultural stock may have appeared on Minoan Linear A tablets, especially the non-extant ones. We cannot ignore that distinct possibility. The probability factor may also enter the equation.

Severely damaged Minoan Linear A tablet (joins) from Gournia

Severely damaged Minoan Linear A tablet (joins) from Gournia:



This Minoan Linear A tablet (fragment/joins) is even more severely damaged than many other Linear A fragments which are missing most of their text, or are partially illegible. The recurrence of (severely) damaged tablets and fragments is more widespread in Mycenaean Linear B, since there are far more extant tablets in that syllabary (close to 5,000). An example of a badly damaged Linear B tablet from Knossos follows:

Minoan Linear A tablet ZA 8, atare = “a grove of fig trees” at Zakros

Minoan Linear A tablet ZA 8, atare = “a grove of fig trees” at Zakros:



After spending considerable time wracking my brains out trying to figure out what atare on Minoan Linear A ZA 8 from Zakros could possibly mean, I finally came up with what I consider a rational solution. We note that no number of figs or fig trees follows the syllabogram NI, which designates figs in both Minoan Linear A and in Mycenaean Linear B, in which the actual word for “fig(s)” is suza. Given that Zakros in pre-Mycenaean Minoan times was probably a rather small outpost, the likelihood that there would be only 1 stand or grove of figs there stands up quite well to scrutiny. Of course, there is no way of saying for certain (far from it) that that is what arate means, but this is the route I have chosen to follow in deciphering the term.

This is the sixty-first (61) term we have deciphered, more or less accurately, in Minoan Linear A. This is post 1,200 on our site since its inception in late 2013.

Minoan Linear A terms for large (qapa3 = qapai) and small size (pazeqe) handle-less vessels

Minoan Linear A terms for large (qapa3 = qapai) and small size (pazaqe) handle-less vessels:

Minoan Linear A tablet HT 31 (Haghia Triada) contains two terms for handle-less vessels. These are qapa3 = qapai for a “large handle-less vase/cup” (more commonly the former), and pazaqe for a “small handle-less cup”. The latter were very common in both Minoan & Mycenaean times, which explains why so many of them are mentioned on this tablet (3,000). Cross-correlative retrogressive extrapolation from Pylos tablet Py TA 641-1952 (Ventris) confirms that the decipherment qapa3 = qapai for a “large handle-less vase/cup” is correct. As for pazaqe, it is plain that the handle-less cups are very small, since there are so many of them (3,000). These are illustrated to the top right of the figure above.

This brings the total number of Minoan Linear A terms we have deciphered, more or less accurately, to 60. It is at this point that we hit a brick wall, at least for the time being, as there is simply no way for me to decipher Minoan Linear A tablets with no ideograms on them. Unfortunately, these account for the majority of Linear A tablets. But the fact that we have been able to decipher as many as 60 Minoan words is a vast improvement over any previous attempts by any researchers in Minoan Linear A to decipher anything at all. The best anyone has managed to date has been restricted to eponyms and toponyms, and the finest work done in this respect was achieved with great insight by Andras Zeke of the Minoan Language Blog:

Knossos tablet KN 875a M n 01 as a template guide for the decipherment of vessels (pottery) in Minoan Linear A

Knossos tablet KN 875aM n 01 as a template guide for the decipherment of vessels (pottery) in Minoan Linear A:



Knossos tablet KN 875a M n 01 serves as a useful template guide for cross-correlative retrogressive extrapolation of vocabulary for vessels (pottery) in Minoan Linear A. Although have already deciphered, more or less accurately, the words for “a cup with handles” in Minoan Linear A, we have not yet been able to extract the term for “a handle-less cup”. So hopefully this tablet should serve as a guide to the eventual discovery of the Minoan Linear A equivalent of Mycenaean Linear B dipa anowe or dipa anowoto, both meaning “a handle-less cup”. The term dipa anowe also appears on the famous Linear B tablet, Pylos TA 641-1952 (Ventris), the first ever large Mycenaean Linear B tablet ever deciphered by none other than Michael Ventris himself. This tablet has recently be re-deciphered by Rita Roberts, an archaeologist from Crete, in my article, An Archaeologist's Translation of Pylos Tablet 641-1952. pp. 133-161 in  Archaeology and Science, Vol. 10 (2014) ISSN 1452-7448 (Belgrade), now available on academia.edu here:



This is the most comprehensive article (28 pages long) ever written on the decipherment of this key Linear B tablet. You can download it from academia.edu at the link above.

Minoan Linear A ideogram for “man” “soldier” + supersyllabogram KA = kapa = Mycenaean Linear B = eqeta

Minoan Linear A ideogram for “man” “soldier” + supersyllabogram KA = kapa = Mycenaean Linear B = eqeta:

The illustration above highlights the Minoan Linear A ideogram for “man” “soldier” + supersyllabogram KA = kapa = Mycenaean Linear B = eqeta, which in turn is the Mycenaean military functionary called in English “soldier” (approximately). Actually, the eqeta were the personal attendants of the rawaketa or Leader of the Host (Homeric), otherwise known as the Commander-in-Chief. Yet this title was often synonymous with wanaka, the king, who in the case of the Trojan War was none other than Agamemnon. Since the high Minoan civilization (Late Middle Minoan MMIIIb, ca 1600 BCE)

preceded the Mycenaean at Knossos (Late Minoan III, ca 1450 BCE) by about 150 years, it is of course impossible to directly cross-correlate the Minoan word kapa with the Mycenaean eqeta, which came much later, typically at Mycenae itself and at Pylos (ca 1400-1200 BCE). So kapa may not strictly mean “follower”, but simply “soldier” or “foot soldier”. Yet it must be said in all fairness that the Minoan soldier was highly likely to be a subaltern, in other words, follower of his ultimate supernumerary, the King of Knossos.

I am relatively confident of my decipherment, given that Haghia Triada tablet HT 94 mentions 62 kapa, a number commensurate with a company of followers or (foot) soldiers, attendants to the King.

This is the fifty-seventh (57) Minoan Linear A word I have deciphered, more or less accurately (in this case more).

Minoan Linear A tablet on figs, potentially confirming my decipherment of kireza as the standard unit of measurement for figs

Minoan Linear A tablet on figs, potentially confirming my decipherment of kireza as the standard unit of measurement for figs:



This typically tiny Minoan Linear A tablet on figs potentially confirms my decipherment of kireza as the standard unit of measurement for figs. At least so it appears.  The text is awfully difficult to read and some of the syllabograms or characters completely escape me. However, the image of the jar, stirrup jar, amphora (or whatever it is) is as clear as the nose on one’s face. In the presence of an ideogram which looks like that for “figs”, this tablet may (or may not) confirm my initial decipherment of kireza as the standard unit for the measurement of figs by the basket. Only time and further research will tell.

Fresco, The Cup Bearers, Knossos & Minoan Linear A tablet, Zakros = sukini = fine wine # 2

Fresco, The Cup Bearers, Knossos & Minoan Linear A tablet, Zakros = sukini = fine wine # 2:



This Minoan Linear A tablet from Zakros appears to confirm my initial decipherment of  sukini = fine wine.  And here it is in facsimile:

Stunning Minoan fresco, Akrotiri, figs & Linear A tablet Zakros ZA 1, kireza = measurement of figs by the basket

Stunning Minoan fresco, Akrotiri, figs & Linear A tablet Zakros ZA 1, kireza = measurement of figs by the basket:



This stunning fresco from Akrotiri, featuring the typical Minoan “blue monkey” motif, fanciful animals on a celestial backdrop of figs is truly amazing! It is one of my favourite Minoan-style frescoes by far.  Immediately below it we find Linear A tablet Zakros ZA 1, on which the word kireza is inscribed. This word is so strikingly similar to the standard Minoan Linear A units of measurement,

reza = standard unit of (linear) measurement
adureza = standard unit of dry measurement
tereza = standard unit of liquid measurement (e.g. Wine)

that it is rather difficult to imagine it could be anything but a unit of measurement. However, I have only seen it used in conjunction with figs on any Minoan Linear tablet, and in fact, this is the only Minoan Linear A tablet on which kireza appears. Now the question is, what is the base unit of measurement of figs kireza refers to?  Given that the number of kireza on this tablet is 42, it would appear that it is a relatively large standard unit of measurement. And the unit which leaped to my mind was (and is) a basket of figs, by which I mean a basket which can be carried on one’s shoulders.  Additionally, as can be inferred from the Akrotiri fresco, women were tasked with gathering figs.    

This is the fifty-sixth (56) word in Minoan Linear A I have deciphered more or less accurately.

Beautifully illustrated Mycenaean Linear B tablet on 5 carpenters who owe the tax collector

This is a beautifully illustrated Mycenaean Linear B tablet on 5 carpenters who owe the tax collector:



The illustrations at the top are (left) several designs for Minoan houses (Knossos). Notice that many of them are 3 stories high, which is unusual for the ancient world, except for Rome, with its shabby multi-storied insulae (islands) or apartment buildings, which frequently collapsed. Such can scarcely be said of the Minoan houses, which were built to withstand earthquakes. You can see this for yourself from the top left picture, where the windows in the last 2 houses on the bottom display the heavy wooden beams, both vertical and horizontal, used to reinforce the windows. A cute clay model of a Minoan house at Knossos appears at the top right. The Minoans at Knossos were just as fussy about their typical beautifully fluted Minoan columns and sturdily reinforced doors, as can clearly be seen in these two photos I took when I was in Knossos on May 2, 2012:





I am particularly impressed by the text in Mycenaean Greek, which is easily rendered into Archaic Greek.

Minoan Linear whorls unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann at Troy in 1875 & their striking similarity to the Linear A whorls (recto/verso) illustrated here

Minoan Linear whorls unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann at Troy in 1875 & their striking similarity to the Linear A whorls (recto/verso) illustrated here:

As I searched through all of the tablets Prof. John G. Younger has placed online on his superb site, Linear A Texts in phonetic transcription, Minoan Linear whorls unearthed by Heinrich Schliemann at Troy in 1875 are strikingly similar to the Linear A whorls (recto/verso) from his site, which you can view by clicking on the logo for his site:

(Scroll down to Troy about 80 % down from the top of the page)

Imagine my excitement when I ran across the whorls from Troy with Minoan Linear A text on them from Prof. Younger’s site! The similarities are in fact so astonishing that I have decided to go out on a limb (which is typical of me) and dare to decipher the text on the Linear A whorls (recto/verso), where [1] recto appears to mean “the left or outside spindle wheel” and [2] verso would therefore mean “the right or inside spindle wheel”, yielding two spindle wheels on each side of the distaff, just they appear in the illustration of an ancient Greek distaff and spindles (top left). Indeed, the figure of several whorls which the renowned archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann, dug up at Troy in 1875 (top right) appear to confirm my findings.

And when we turn our attention to more closely examine the two Minoan words in Linear A, [1] pimitatira2 = pimitatirai & [2] dumitatira2 = dumitatirai, we discover that the words are identical except for the first syllabogram or first syllable, which are [1] pi & [2] du. Of course, it is indifferent to the decipherment whether or not pi designates the left or right spindle wheel and du the right or left spindle wheel, or vice versa, provided that we understand that the wheels are opposite one another on the distaff. This in turn implies that the prefixes (prefixed syllabogram) pi must mean “left” or “outside” and du the opposite, “right” or “inside” or vice versa. But for the sake of expediency, we have settled on the first interpretation, though if you yourself prefer it the other way around, that is fine with me.

But the implications of this discovery go even further. If pi means “left” or “outside” and du the opposite, “right” or “inside”, it is up to us to attempt to verify this hypothesis by scanning through every last Minoan Linear A tablet in Prof. John G. Younger’s database of Linear A texts, searching for the possible recurrence of these same two prefix syllabograms in different contexts. If we do happen to stumble upon such text(s), then not only may we have the means to verify or dismiss our decipherment of the two words here, [1] pimitatira2 = pimitatirai & [2] dumitatira2 = duimitatirai, but also to cross-correlate these two quasi-identical Minoan words (prefixes excepted) with other Minoan Linear A words, which would then serve to confirm or dismiss our hypothetical decipherment, and even allow us to decipher the other quasi-identical twin words, with the sole difference that one word has the prefix pi and other du. Let us fervently hope for such an outcome. You can rest assured that this is precisely what I intend to do, scan Prof. John G. Younger’s database of Linear A texts from top to bottom, and end to end, in the hope of discovering other quasi-twins with the same syllabograms as prefixes.

This brings the total number of Minoan Linear A words (tentatively) deciphered to 55.

Eponyms or personal names in Mycenaean Linear B & Minoan Linear A followed by the ideogram for “man”

Eponyms or personal names in Mycenaean Linear B & Minoan Linear A followed by the ideogram for “man”:

In both Minoan Linear A and in Mycenaean Linear B there are ideograms for “man”. Of course, Mycenaean Linear B inherited its ideograms for “man”, “man seated” and “woman” from the single Minoan Linear A ideogram for “man”. The Linear B ideograms are much more flexible, allowing for gender, but nevertheless they are clearly offshoots of the Linear A ideogram for “man”. Yet that is not the important thing to note here. The key to the usage of ideograms for humans in both Linear A and Linear B is that they immediately follow the name(s) of the person or people they qualify. Thus, in the Linear B tablet below, we see no fewer than 18 names of men on 7 lines:



This figure clarifies the differences between the 3 ideograms for people in Linear B and the single ideogram in Linear A: 



Finally, we have extracts from two Linear A tablets from Haghia Triada, HT 58 & HT 122b (the second part of HT 122):



on which the Minoan names Qetiradu and Yedi appear. As you can see, the formula for displaying names is practically identical in both Minoan Linear A and in Mycenaean Linear B, which inherited it from Linear A. This formula is: personal name + ideogram for man etc.  This brings the number of Minoan words we have deciphered, more or less accurately, to 53.

Eponyms + Toponyms together in Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A

Eponyms + Toponyms together in Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A:

Whenever both eponyms and toponyms appear on a Mycenaean Linear B tablet, the eponym appears either on the first line or to the left of the tablet (more often the latter), in either case as the leader (first word on that line), while the toponym appears as the first word or leader on the second line, as illustrated here:



Whenever both eponyms and toponyms appear on a Minoan Linear A tablet, in a formula differing slightly from that applicable to Mycenaean Linear B tablets, the eponym appears on the first line as the leader (first word on that line), while the toponym(s) appear as the first word on the second (and third) line(s), as illustrated here:



Take particular note of the fact that the toponyms (place names) Kudoni, Meza, Paito, Radu, Setoiya, Sukirita and Winadu in Minoan Linear A are either very close to or exactly equivalent to their Mycenaean Linar B counterparts, Kudonia, Masa, Paito, Rato, Seteia, Sukirita and Inato. These parallels are so striking that it makes it quite clear that all of the Mycenaean Linear B toponyms cited here are pre-Mycenaean, i.e. Minoan or even earlier than that. Kunisu in Minoan Linear A may be equivalent to Konoso in Mycenaean Linear B,  but there is no guarantee of this.  

We have now reached a total of 51 Minoan Linear A words deciphered to date.

Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A tablets with leading eponyms in the first position on the first line of tablets: PART B

Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A tablets with leading eponyms in the first position on the first line of tablets: PART B

In addition to the eponym, Dumirewe, mentioned three times in Mycenaean Linear B and the two eponyms, Asiyaka & Kirita2 or Kiritai mentioned twice each in Minoan Linear A in the previous post, here you see 6 Mycenaean Linear B tablets with 7 eponyms (personal names) on them:



followed by 5 tablets in Minoan Linear A with 5 eponyms on them:



All of the eponyms on both the Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B tablets adhere to the same formula, just as we outlined it in the previous post, and I repeat:

Once again, the principle of leading eponyms is firmly based on their strictly linear placement on the first line of both Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B tablets, and their position on that line, which is always the leading, in other words, in both syllabaries, the eponym typically and almost always appears in the first position of the first line. This strictly formulaic placement of eponyms in the leading position on tablets is typical of both syllabaries, since they are both used for inventories alone.

I am therefore convinced that the 5 words in the leading position on the 5 Minoan Linear A tablets are, like their 7 counterparts on 6 tablets in Mycenaean Linear B, eponyms.

Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A tablets with leading eponyms in the first position on the first line of tablets

Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A tablets with leading eponyms in the first position on the first line of tablets:

We now turn to Mycenaean Linear B and Minoan Linear A tablets with leading eponyms, i.e. personal names. Based on the sound practical principle that the formula for Mycenaean Linear B tablets containing eponyms is highly likely to mimic the formula for eponyms on Minoan Linear A tablets, in other words, basing ourselves on the assumption that eponyms will appear in almost exactly the same configuration in Mycenaean Linear B as they previously did in Minoan Linear A, we can infer from these three Mycenaean Linear B tablets repeating the same personal name, Dumirewe, on the first line, that if there are any Minoan Linear A tablets exhibiting the same disposition of a single word on the first line that is repeated, then that name is more likely than not also to be an eponym, closely following the formula on the three Mycenaean Linear B tablets shown here:



Moving onto Minoan Linear A tablets, we find:



And wouldn’t you believe it, there is not just one eponym appearing on the first line of a Linear A tablet, but two, as illustrated here on Linear A tablets HT 28, HT 114 & HT 121. The eponym (personal name), Asiyaka appears twice on the same tablet (!) HT 114. The first instance of Asiyaka appears on the Recto, and the second on he Verso, which neatly explains why it is repeated.

As for the personal name, Kirita2 or Kiritai, it appears on two separate tablets, HT 114 & HT 121, again on the first line in both instances. This formula is almost exactly the same as that we have just demonstrated on Mycenaean Linear B tablets KN 1175, KN 1179 & KN 1180 above. If that does not convince you that Asiyaka and Kirita2 or Kiritai are not eponyms, I do not know what can.

Once again, the principle of leading eponyms is firmly based on their strictly linear placement on the first line of both Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B tablets, and their position on that line, which is always the leading, in other words, in both syllabaries, the eponym typically and almost always appears in the first position of the first line. This strictly formulaic placement of eponyms in the leading position on tablets is typical of both syllabaries, since they are both used for inventories alone.

Still, as we shall soon discover in upcoming posts, this is not always the case. Nothing is ever cast in stone in any language, let alone in Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B.

Tag: Linguistics

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