Digital enhancement of Linear A & B tablets: #6 Linear A tablet ARKH 2 (Arkhanes)
Tag: syllabary
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Digital enhancement of Linear A & B tablets: #5 Linear A tablet MA 1 (Malia)
Digital enhancement of Linear A & B tablets: #5 Linear A tablet MA 1 (Malia)
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Digital enhancement of Linear A & B tablets: #3 Linear A tablet KH 10 (Khania)
Digital enhancement of Linear A & B tablets: #3 Linear A tablet KH 10 (Khania)
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Badly damaged, but still largely legible Linear A tablet from Gournia in Mycenaean derived Greek
Badly damaged, but still largely legible Linear A tablet from Gournia in Mycenaean derived Greek:
Although this tablet is badly damaged, the text remains legible. The word kadusi is instrumental plural for a bucket or pail, while daro is a piece of wood (burning/on fire). As for the single syllabogram RO on the first line of the RECTO, it looks very much like it is the last syllable for udoro, which is the word for water in Mycenaean Linear A. So while this tablet is inscribed in the Linear A syllabary, it must have been written just before the adoption of Linear B as the new syllabary. 2 roundels from Gournia were composed ca. 1600 BCE, but this damaged tablet must have been inscribed later, ca. 1500-1450 BCE.
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Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon of 969 words, the most complete Linear A Lexicon ever by far, with at least 250 terms more than Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon
Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon of 969 words, the most complete Linear A Lexicon ever by far, with at least 250 terms more than Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon:
At this juncture in my ongoing endeavour to decipher Linear A, I have run across so many tablets with New Minoan Mycenaean derived superstratum words that I am confident I am well on the way to deciphering New Minoan. Such is not the case with Old Minoan, i.e. the original Minoan language a.k.a. the Minoan substratum. But even there I have managed to decipher at least 100 words more or less accurately, bringing the total of Old Minoan, New Minoan and pre-Greek substratum vocabulary to around 250 out of the 969 Linear A words I have isolated in my Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon, by far the most complete Linear A Lexicon ever to appear online, exceeding Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon by at least 250.
Since this new Lexicon is so large and I intend to publish it soon in its entirety on my academia.edu account, there is no point rehashing it here. Instead, I shall tantalize you with just a few excerpts, to give you at least a notion of how far I have taken this labour-intensive project.
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Excerpta from the Complete Linear A lexicon of 969 words:
This lexicon comprises all of the intact words in John G. Younger’s Linear A Reverse Lexicon (which is far from comprehensive) plus every last intact word on every single tablet at his site, wherever any of the latter are not found in the former. By my count, there are 969 words, some 250 more than in Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon. Words which are apparent variants of one another are listed as one entry, e.g.
daka/daki/daku/dakuna
dakusene(ti)
japa/japadi/japaku
kira/kiro/kirisi/kiru
maru/maruku/maruri
merasasaa/merasasaja
nesa/nesaki/nesakimi
piku/pikui/pikuzu
reda/redamija/redana/redasi
saro/saru/sarutu
tami/tamia/tamisi
zare/zaredu/zareki/zaresea
The following entries have been deliberately omitted:
1 Words containing any syllabograms which are either partially or wholly numeric, since we do not know what the phonetic values of these syllabograms are.
2 Strings of syllabograms > than 15 characters.
KEY:
OM = Old Minoan, the original Minoan language, denominated the Minoan substratum. Words are tagged OM only where I have been able to decipher any of them.
PGS = pre-Greek substratum, i.e. words, man of which are non-Indo-European, in existence before Mycenaean and ancient Greek, but which entered Greek and were probably present in Old Minoan, even if many of them do not appear on Linear A tablets or fragments.
NM = New Minoan, Mycenaean derived or words of Mycenaean origin in Linear A
a
adai
adakisika
adara/adaro/adaru OM
ade/adu OM -or- NM = ades-, ados- sort of cereal
adunitana
adureza OM
aduza
ajesa
aju 10
Akanu PGS = Archanes (Crete)
... passim ...
dame/dami (sing. damai) PGS
daminu
danasi 80
danekuti
daqaqa
daqera OM
dare
darida OM
daropa OM
darunete
daserate
dasi OM
datapa 90
datara/datare
data2 OM
datu OM
Dawa PGS (Haghia Triada)
daweda OM
... passim ...
kanaka PGS
kanita
kanuti
kapa/kapaqe/kapi NM
kaporu NM
kapusi NM?
kaqa/kaqe
kara NM
karona NM?
karopa2 (karopai) OM 260
karu NM?
karunau
kasaru
kasi
kasidizuitanai
kasikidaa
kasitero NM
... passim ...
mini/miniduwa NM
minumi
minute (sing. minuta2 - minutai)
mio/miowa 400
mipa
mireja
miru
mirutarare
misimiri
misuma
mita PGS
Paito = Phaistos
pa3a/pa3ana NM?
pa3da
pa3dipo
pa3katari
pa3kija 510
... passim ...
pimitatira2 (pimitatirai) OM
pina/pini
pirueju
pisa
pita/pitaja 540
pitakase/pitakesi NM
pitara
piwaa/piwaja
piwi
posa NM
potokuro NM?
pu2juzu
pu2su/pu2sutu
pu3pi
pu3tama 550
puko OM = tripod
... passim ...
roke/roki/roku
romaku
romasa
ronadi
rore/roreka
rosa PGS = rose
rosirasiro PGS = planted rose (rose + hole sunk in the ground)
rotau 680
roti OM = a type of grain or wheat (Petras)
rotwei
rua
rudedi
ruiko
rujamime
ruka/rukaa/ruki/rukike
Rukito (topo) PGS
ruko NM?
rukue 690
ruma/rumu/rumata/rumatase
rupoka
ruqa/ruqaqa (common)
rusa (common/rusaka
rusi
rutari
rutia
ruzuna
... passim ...
sadi
saja/sajama/sajamana OM 700
sajea
saka NM
sama/samaro
samidae PGS?
samuku OM
sanitii
sapo/sapi
saqa
saqeri
sara2 (sarai)/sarara PGS = sharia wheat 690 710
... passim ...
taikama OM PGS
tainumapa
ta2merakodisi
ta2re/ta2reki
ta2riki
ta2rimarusi
ta2tare
ta2tite
ta2u
tajusu 800
takaa/takari
taki/taku/takui NM
tamaduda
tanamaje
tanate/tanati NM
tanunikina
tamaru
tami/tamia/tamisi NM
tani/taniria/tanirizu
taniti 810
tapa NM = Linear B
... passim ...
udami/udamia NM?
udimi
udiriki
uju NM?
uki NM?
uminase OM
unaa
unadi (common) 920
unakanasi
unarukanasi/unarukanati
upa
uqeti
urewi
uro NM
uso/usu
uta/uta2
utaise
utaro 930
uti
waduko
wadunimi
waja NM
wanai
wanaka PGS
wapusua
wara2qa
watepidu NM
watumare 940
wazudu
wetujupitu
widina
widui
wija NM
wijasumatiti
Winadu PGS (topomastics)
winipa
winu NM
winumatari NM 950
wiraremite
wireu NM
wirudu
wisasane
witero NM?
zadeu/zadeujuraa
zadua
zama/zame
zanwaija
zapa 960
zare/zaredu/zareki/zaresea
zasata
zirinima
zudu
zukupi
zuma
zupaku
zusiza
zute 969
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Partial decipherment of Linear A inscription PH 1 (Arkalochori Axe):
Partial decipherment of Linear A inscription PH 1 (Arkalochori Axe):
My decipherment is partial. The only candidate for Mycenaean derived vocabulary is the word uro = entire, whole, i.e. total, a synonym of kuro = reaching, attaining, i.e. total.
The word jaku obviously refers to the cargo.
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Supplement to the Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: Onomastics and Topomastics: +12 = 904 – 916
Supplement to the Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: Onomastics and Topomastics: +12 = 904 - 916
It is understood that I have personally interpreted the words below as either eponyms (personal names) or toponyms (place names), but some of them may be neither, being perhaps merely words. It is also possible that one or more of the 3 terms I have listed as onomastics may be topomastics, and that any number of those I have classed as topomastics may be onomastics (or neither).
Onomastics:
Kanajami
Tateikezare
Tidiate
Toponomastics:
Akanu = Archanes (Crete)
Dawa (Haghia Triada) 5
Dikate = Mount Dikte
Idaa = Mount Ida
Kura
Meza (= Linear B Masa)
Paito = Phaistos (= Linear B) 10
Sukirita/Sukiriteija = Sybrita
Winadu = Linear B Inato 12
TOTAL for the Comprehensive Linear A Lexicon = 916
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 801-903 = TI – ZU
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 801-903 = TI - ZU
tikuja
tikuneda
timaruri/timaruwite
timasa
timi
timunuta
tina
tinakarunau
tinata (common)/tinita
tinesekuda 810
tininaka
tinu
tinuka
tinusekiqa
tio
tiqatediti
tiqe/tiqeri/tiqeu
tiraduja
tirakapa3
tira2 820
tire
tisa
tisiritua
tisudapa
tita
titema
titiku
titima
tiu
tiumaja 830
tizanukaa
toipa
tome
toreqa
tuda
tujuma
tukidija
tukuse
tuma/tumi/tumitizase
tunada/tunapa 840
tunapa3ku
tunija
tupadida
tuqe
turaa
turunuseme
turusa
tusi/tusu/tusupu2
tute
tutesi 850
udamia
udimi
udiriki
uju
uki
uminase
unaa
unadi (common)
unakanasi
unarukanasi/unarukanati 860
uqeti
urewi
usu
uta/uta2
utaise
utaro
uti
waduko
wadunimi
waja 870
wanai
wapusua
wara2qa
watepidu
watumare
wazudu
widina
widui
wija
wijasumatiti 880
winadu
winipa
winu
winumatari
wiraremite
wireu
wirudu
wisasane
witero
zadeu/zadeujuraa 890
zadua
zama/zame
zanwaija
zapa
zarse/zaredu/zareki/zaresea
zasata
zirinima
zudu
zukupi
zuma 900
zupaku
zusiza
zute 903
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 701-800 = SI – TI
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 701-800 = SI - TI
sina
sinada
sinae
sinakanau (common)
sinakase
sinamiu
sinatakira
sinedui
sipiki
sipu3ka 710
siriki
siwamaa
sokanipu
sudaja
suja
suniku (common)
sure
Suria
suropa
siru/sirute 720
sirumarita2
sitetu
situ
sokemase
sutu/sutunara
suu
suzu
taa
tadaki/tadati
tadeuka 730
taikama
tainumapa
ta2tare
ta2tite
tajusu
takaa/takari
taki/taku/takui
tamaduda
tamaru
temeku 740
tami/tamia/tamisi
tanamaje
tanate/tanati
tani/taniria/tanirizu
taniti
tanunikina
tapa
tapiida
tapiqe
tara/tarina 750
tarejanai
tarikisu
taritama
tasa/tasaja
tasise
tata/tati
tateikezare
ta2merakodisi
ta2re/ta2reki
ta2riki 760
ta2rimarusi
ta2u
tedasi/tedatiqa
tedekima
teepikia
teizatima
tejai
tejuda
teke/teki
tekidia 770
temada/temadai
temirerawi
tenamipi
tenata/tenataa
tenatunapa3ku
tenekuka
teneruda
teniku
tenitaki
tenu/tenumi (common) 780
tera/tere/teri
teraseda
tereau
terikama
teridu
tero
teroa
terusi (extremely common)
tesi/tesiqe
tesudesekei 790
tetu
tetita2
tewirumati
tidama
tidata
tiditeqati
tiduitii/tiisako
tija
tika
tikiqa 800
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 601-700 = RE – SI
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 601-700 = RE - SI
rezakeiteta
ria (common)
ridu
rikata
rima
rimisi
ripaku
ripatu
riqesa
rira/riruma/rirumate 610
risa
risaipa3dai
risumasuri
ritaje
rite/ritepi
ritoe
rodaa/rodaki
roika
roke/roki/roku
romaku 620
romasa
ronadi
rore/roreka
rosa
rosirasiro
rotau
rotwei
rua
rudedi
ruiko
rujamime
ruka/rukaa/ruki/rukike
ruko
rukue
ruma
rumu/rumata/rumatase
rupoka
ruqa/ruqaqa (common)
rusa (common/rusaka
rusi
rutari
rutia
ruzuna
sadi
saja/sajama
sajea
saka
sama/samaro
samidae
sanitii 650
sapo
sapi
saqa
saqeri
sara2/sarara
sareju
saro/saru/sarutu
sasaja
sasame
sea
sedire
sei
seikama
seimasusaa
seitau
sejarapaja
sejasinataki
sesasinunaa
sekadidi
sekatapi 670
sekidi
semake
semetu
senu
sepa
sekutu
sesapa3
setamaru
setira
Setoija 680
sewaude
sezami
sezanitao
sezaredu
sezatimitu
sia
sidare/sidate
sidi
sidija
sii/siisi 690
siitau
sija
sijanakarunau
sika
siketapi
sikine
sikira/sikirita
sima
simara
simita 700
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 501-600 = PI – RE
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 501-600 = PI - RE
pitara
piwaa/piwaja/piwi
posa
potokuro
puqe
pura2
pusa/pusi
pusuqe
pu2juzu
pu2su/pu2sutu 510
pu3pi
pu3tama
qaka
qanuma
qapaja/qapajanai
qaqada
qaqaru
qera2u/qara2wa
qareto
qaro 520
qasaraku
qatidate
qatiki
qatiju
qedeminu
qeja
qeka
qenamiku
qenupa
qepaka 530
qepita
qepu
qequre
qera2u
qerosa
qeta2e
qesusui
qesite
qesizue
qesupu 540
qeti/qetieradu
qetune
raa
rada/radaa/radakuku/radami
radarua
radasija
radizu
radu
ra2rore
raja/raju 550
rakaa
raki/rakii
rakisi/raku
ranatusu
rani
raodiki
rapa/rapu
rapu3ra
raqeda
rarasa
rarua
rasa 560
rasamii
rasasaa/rasasaja
rasi
rata/ratapi
ratada
ratise
razua
ra2i
ra2ka
ra2madami 570
ra2miki
ra2natipiwa
ra2pu/ra2pu2
ra2ru
ra2saa
rea
reda (common)/redamija/redana/redasi
redise
reduja
reja/rejapa (common) 580
rekau
rekotuku
reku/rekuqa/rekuqe
rema/remi
rematuwa
renara/renaraa
renute
repa
repu2dudatapa
repu3du 590
reqasuo
reradu
reratarumi
rera2tusi
rerora2
resi/resu
retaa/retada
retaka
retata2
retema 600
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 401-500 = NA – PI
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 401-500 = NA - PI
nasi
nasisea
nataa/nataje
natanidua
natareki (common)
nati
nazuku/nazuru
nea/neakoa
nedia
nedira
neka/nekisi 410
nemaduka
nemaruja
nemiduda
nemusaa
nenaarasaja
neqa
neramaa
nerapa/nerapaa
nesa/nesaki/nesakimi
nesasawi 420
nesekuda
neta
netapa
netuqe
nidapa
nidiki/nidiwa
niduti
nijanu
niku/nikutitii
nimi 430
nipa3
niro/niru
nisi
nisudu
niti
nizuka
nizuuka
nua
nude
nuki/nukisikija 440
numida/numideqe
nupa3ku (extremely common)
nupi
nuqetu
nuti/nutini
nutiuteranata
nutu
nuwi
odami/odamia 450
opi
osuqare
otanize
oteja
pa (common)/paa
padaru
padasuti
pade
padupaa
pa3katari 460
pa3ni/pa3nina/pa3niwi
paja/pajai
pajare
paka (very common)/paku (very common)/pakuka
pamanuita
panuqe
para
paria
paroda
pasu 470
pata/patu
pa3a/pa3ana
pa3da
pa3dipo
pa3kija
pa3ku
pa3pa3ku
pa3roka
pa3sase
pa3waja 480
pa3qa
panuqe
parane
parosu
pasarija
pase
pasu
pata
patada
patane 490
pia/pii
pija/pijawa
piku/pikui
pikuzu
pimata
pina/pini
pirueju
Pisa
pita/pitaja
pitakase/pitakesi 500
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 301-400 = KU – NA
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: 301-400 = KU - NA
kureju
kuro
kuruku
kuruma
kutiti
kutukore
kuzuni
maadf
madadu
madi 310
mai/maimi
masaja
majutu
makaise/makaita
makarite
makidete
mana/manapi (common) 320
maniki
manirizu
manuqa 320
maru/maruku/maruri
masa
masi
masuri
matapu
mateti
matiti
matizaite
matu
masuja 330
maza/mazu
meda
medakidi
mepajai
mera
merasasaa/merasasaja (very common)
mesasa
mesenurutu
meto
meturaa 340
meza
mia
midai
midani
midamara
midara
mide
midiu
mie
miima 350
mijanika
mijuke
mikidua
mikisena
minaminapii
minedu
mini/miniduwa
minumi
minute
mio/miowa 360
mipa
mireja
miru
mirutarare
misimiri
misuma
mita
miturea
mujatewi
muko 370
mupi
muru
musaja
naa
nadare
nadi/nadiradi/nadiredi
nadiwi
nadu
nadunapu2a
naisizamikao 380
naka
nakiki
nakininuta
nakuda
namarasasaja
nmatiti
nami
namikua/namikuda
namine
nanau 390
nanipa3
napa3du
narepirea
naridi
narinarikui
narita
naroka
naru
nasarea
nasekimi 400
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: the third one hundred = 201-300 = JA – KU
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: the third one hundred = 201-300 = JA - KU
jatituku + jatituku
jatoja
jawi
jedi
jeka
jemanata
jua
judu
juerupi
juka 210
juma/jumaku
juraa
jureku
juresa
jutiqa
juu
ka (extremely common)
kada/kadasaa
kadi
kadumane 220
kae
kai/kaika
kairo
kaji/kaju
kaki/kaku
kakunete
kami
kana
kanatiti
kanau
kanita
kanuti
kapa/kapaqe
kaporu
kapusi
kaqa/kaqe
kara
karona
karu
karunau/karunau 240
kasaru
kasi
kasidizuitanai
kasikidaa
katanite
kati
kaudeta
keire
kekiru
kero
keta/kete
ketesunata
kezadidi
kida/kidi
kidaro
kidata
kidini
kidiora
kii/kiipa
kikiraja 260
kija
kika
kikadi
kina
kinima/ kinite
kipaa
kipisi (fairly common)
kiqa
kira/kiro/kirisi/kiru
kireta2 270
kiretana
kisusetu
kitai
kite
kitiqa
koiru
koja
kopu
koru
kosaiti 280
kuda
kuja
kujude
kuka
kukudara
kumaju
kumapu
kunisu
kupa/kupi
kupatikidadia 290
kupa3natu
kupa3nu
kupa3pa3
kupa3rija
kupaja
kupari
kupazu
kura/kuramu
kurasaqa
kureda 300
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: the second one hundred = 101-200 = DI – JA
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 903 words in Linear A: the second one hundred = 101-200 = DI - JA
This is the most comprehensive Linear A Lexicon ever published on the Internet.
This lexicon comprises all of the intact words in John G. Younger’s Linear A Reverse Lexicon (which is far from comprehensive) plus every last intact word on every single tablet or fragment at his site, wherever any of the latter are not found in the former. By my count, there are 903 words, though I may have made the occasional error in addition, since I had to subtract some repetitive words and add others from the tablets, which are not in the Linear A Reverse Lexicon. Although Prof. John G. Younger has tallied some 903 Linear A words on his site, Linear A Texts in phonetic transcription, his actual lexicon is far from complete. Consequently, it has been necessary for me to draw all of the intact Linear words from every last Linear A tablet and fragment on Prof. Younger’s site. The difficulty here is that his lexicon includes even those Linear A words containing unknown syllabograms, many of which are assigned numeric values only, e.g. *309 *318 *319 *346-348 etc. And there are a number of them. The problem with all of these syllabograms is that no one knows what their phonetic values are. So it goes without saying that every last Minoan Linear A word which contains even one of these unknown syllabograms should, properly speaking, be disqualified. Moreover, there is redundancy in some of the vocabulary, since quite a few Linear A words on his site are simply variants of one another. To cite just a few examples, we have: daka/daki/daku/dakuna; maru/maruku/maruri; nesa, nesaki, nesakimi; and tami, tamia, tamisi. Consequently, I have also eliminated all of the variants on any given term. This leaves us with a remaindered total of 903, exclusive of onomastics (personal names) and topomastics (place names).
Words which are apparent variants of one another are listed as one entry, e.g.
daka/daki/daku/dakuna
dakusenete(ti)
japa/japadi/kapaku
kira/kiro/kirisi/kiru
maru/maruku/maruri
merasasaa/merasasaja
nesa/nesaki/nesakimi
piku/pikui/pikuzu
reda/redamija/redana/redasi
saro/saru/sarutu
tami/tamia/tamisi
zare/zaredu/zareki/zaresea
The following entries have been deliberately omitted:
1. Words containing any syllabograms which are either partially or wholly numeric, since we do not know what the phonetic values of these syllabograms are.
2. Strings of syllabograms > than 15 characters.
NOTE: I have already deciphered well over 200 Linear A words, but none of these are tagged in this comprehensive Linear A Lexicon. I shall be posting my decipherments at a later date.
dipa3a
diqise
dirasa
diredina
dirina
diru
disa
disipita
ditajaru
du/dua 110
duja
dumaina
dumedi
dunawi
dupa3na
dupu3re
dura2
durare
duratiqe
durezase 120
dusi/dusini
dusima
dusu
duti
duwi
duzu
edamisa
eka
epa3
ero 130
esija
ezusiqe
ia
Ida/Idaa
idada
idapa3
idamate/idamete
idarea
idunesi
iduti 140
ijadi
ijapame
ika
ikesedesute
ikurina
ikuta
ima
imeti
inajapaqa
inaimadu 150
ipinama
ira2
iruja
isari
ise
itaja
itaki
itijukui
itinisa
ititikuna 160
izurinita
jaa
jadi/jadikitu
jadireja
jadisi
jadu
jadurati
jai
jaiterikisu
jaitose 170
jainwaza
jaja
jakisikinu
jako/jaku/jakute
jamaa
jami/jamidare
januti
japa/japadi/japaku
japametu
japarajase 180
japanidami
jara2qe
jare/jaremi
jarepu2
jarete
jari/jarina/jarinu
jaripa3ku
jarisapa
jaru/jarui
jasaraanane 190
jasaja
jasapai
jasamu
jasasarame
jasea
jasepa
jasie
jasumatu
jata/jatai/jatapi
jate/jateo 200
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Minoan Linear provides significant evidence of the presence of proto-Greek or even (proto) – Mycenaean in its vocabulary
Minoan Linear provides significant evidence of the presence of proto-Greek or even (proto) – Mycenaean in its vocabulary:
Minoan Linear provides significant evidence of the presence of proto-Greek or even (proto) – Mycenaean in its vocabulary, as attested by this Table (Table 2a & Table 2B), which I have had to divide into two parts because it is so long. So we have
Table 2a Minoan words of apparent proto-Greek origin… or are they in the pre-Greek substratum? A-M:
and Table 2b: N-W:
It is readily apparent from this Table in two parts that all of the words listed in it may be interpreted as proto-Greek or possibly even (proto-) Mycenaean. But the operative word is may, not certainly. This is because (a) Minoan Linear A, like Mycenaean Linear B, makes no distinction between Greek short and long vowels and (b) like Mycenaean Linear B, the Linear A syllabary is deficient in representing a number of Greek consonants, which otherwise might have been the initial consonants of the successive syllabic series, e.g. da de di do du, ka ke ki ko ku, ta te ti to tu etc. The following Greek consonants, first illustrated in this table of the ancient Greek alphabet including the archaic digamma, which was in widespread use in Mycenaean Linear B, are tagged with an asterisk * :
and here Latinized for accessibility to our visitors who cannot read Greek, i.e. b, g, eita (long i) , ksi, fi (pi), chi (as in Scottish “loch”), psi and omega. Because of these lacuna and the notable ambiguities which arise from it, it is not possible to verify that the so-called proto-Greek or (proto-) Mycenaean words listed in Tables 2a & 2b are in fact that. However, chances are good that they are proto-Greek. Additionally, it is not possible to verify whether or not a few, some or even all of the words in Tables 2a and 2b, which appear to be proto-Greek actually fall within the pre-Greek substratum. If the latter scenario is true, then it is more likely than not that a few, some or even all of these words are in fact Minoan. There is no way to verify this for certain. Nevertheless, numerous international researchers into Minoan Linear A, most notably, Urii Mosenkis, one of the world’s most highly qualified linguists specializing in diachronic historical linguistics, including, but not limited to Minoan Linear A, who stands in the top 0.1 % of 40 million users on academia.edu:
have provided significant convincing circumstantial evidence that there are even hundreds of proto-Greek words in Minoan Linear A, which begs the question, is Minoan Linear A proto-Greek? But the answer to the question is not nearly so obvious as one might think, as I shall be demonstrating in my second article, “Current prospects for the decipherment of Minoan Linear A”, which I will be submitting to the prestigious international annual journal, Archaeology and Science (Belgrade) by no later than April 17 2017, the deadline for submissions.
There is no positive, indisputable proof that there are any number of proto-Greek or proto-Greek words in Minoan Linear A, any more than there is any positive proof whatsoever that, as Gretchen Leonhardt would have us believe, that there are any number of proto-Altaic or proto-Japanese words, if any at all, in the Minoan language. As for her hypothesis, for which there not even any substantive circumstantial evidence whatsoever, it is my firm belief and contention that she is, to use the common expression, wasting her time and energy barking up the wrong tree.
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Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, the Elegant Culmination of Syllabaries from Minoan Linear A through to Mycenaean Linear B
Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, the Elegant Culmination of Syllabaries from Minoan Linear A through to Mycenaean Linear B
The title of my submission to Vol. 13 (2017) Archaeology and Science (Belgrade) ISSN 1452-7448 is to be:
“Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, the Elegant Culmination of Syllabaries from Minon Linear through to Mycenaean Linear B”.
This article will feature an overview of each of the syllabaries in turn and the languages and dialects they represent: Minoan for Linear A, the earliest East Greek dialect Mycenaean for Linear B, and the slightly later dialect Arcado-Cypriot for Linear C. It will be quite some time before I will even be able to make my submission, as Vol. 12 (2016) is still in the pipeline, and authors’ articles have not been returned to them in their master format for proof-reading. Nor will they be returned to us before the end of 2017. But I like to hedge my bets, and anyway, the aforementioned topic for Vol. 13 (2017) is right down my alley, in view of the fact that I am expert in all three syllabaries (Linear A, B & C) and their respective languages.
NOTE it is absolutely de rigueur to read the table of the Arcado-Cypriot Linear C syllabary above, if you are to get any real grasp of its enormous significance, not only for the development of literary ancient Greek, which it pioneered, but retrospectively for a proper understanding of Mycenaean Linear B phonetics.
The article will explore in great depth the legacy of Minoan Linear A for Mycenaean Linear B and that of Mycenaean Linear B for Arcado-Cypriot Linear C in turn. Finally, we shall address the even more striking historical legacy of Arcado-Cypriot Linear C itself, as this last syllabary in the series of 3 syllabaries was to have a real impact on the historical Greek era (ca. 1100 BCE – 400 BCE).
What is most striking about the evolution of these three syllabaries is that, as we pass from one to the next, the syllabaries become more streamlined and more simplified. The Minoan Linear A syllabary is the most complex, with a very large number of syllabograms, many of which are undeciphered. While there are ideograms in Minoan Linear A, there are fewer of them in Linear A than in Mycenaean Linear B, which made extensive use of them for the purposes of accurate, minimalized inventory taking. On the other hand, by the time we get to Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, the picture changes drastically. Almost all of the syllabograms in Linear C look completely unlike their Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B forbears. They look different. But appearances can be and are, in the case of Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, very deceiving. While the syllabograms in Arcado-Cypriot Linear C look different from those in Mycenaean Linear B (leaving Minoan Linear A aside, because it is too archaic and too complex), almost all of them bear the same phonetic values as their Linear B counterparts. But what is most remarkable about Arcado-Cypriot Linear C is that it utterly abandoned ideograms, once and for all. There are several cogent reasons for this amazing development, which I shall address when I finally come around to writing this article, probably sometime in 2018.
I have already discussed this topic in recent posts on the Linear A, Linear B & Linear C keyboard templates, and so I would ask you to refer back to them for clarification on any issues which may elude you, and which I do not address in this post, for the simple reason that I have not even yet begun my article for Archaeology and Science. But, of one thing you can be certain, it is bound to be a ground-breaker, like all of my previous articles in this prestigious international archaeological journal.
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The Arcado-Cypriot Linear C keyboard template & the significantly revised timeline for (proto-) historic ancient Greek society
The Arcado-Cypriot Linear C keyboard template & the significantly revised timeline for (proto-) historic ancient Greek society:
This image of the Arcado-Cypriot Linear C keyboard template has been downsized to 620 pixels to fit the restrictive exigencies of Word Press image size. You may request the full-sized 1200 pixel Linear C keyboard template by contacting me at:
vallance22@zoho.com
The Arcado-Cypriot Linear C keyboard template reveals several fascinating characteristics of this extremely important and highly tenacious syllabary. These are:
1. The Arcadians and Cypriots thoroughly redesigned Linear C, almost completely abandoning the Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B syllabograms, but only in superficial appearance.
2. The only Linear C syllabograms which bear resemblance with their Mycenaean Linear B forbears are: NA SE PA & PO.
3. But almost all of the rest of the syllabograms in Linear C bear the same phonetic values as their Linear B forbears.
4. The DA series of syllabograms in Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B has completely disappeared from Arcado-Cypriot Linear C.
5. The RA RE RI RO (RU) series of syllabograms in Minoan Linear A and Mycenaean Linear B has split into 2 discreet, separate series: LA LE LI LO LU & RA RE RI RO RU. But what was the reason for this deliberate split? Here is my hypothesis: it would appear that the Minoans and Mycenaeans were unable to distinguish between the liquids L and R, pronouncing L something along the lines the Japanese did.
6. The syllabograms XA and XE, and the syllabogram GA are non-existent in Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B.
7. Arcado-Cypriot Linear C abandoned ideograms completely. This makes for a much more -
8. streamlined syllabary.
9. The Arcado-Cypriot Linear C syllabary was diachronically extremely tenacious, lasting 7 centuries (ca. 1100 BCE – 400 BCE) co-existing in parallel with the Arcado-Cypriot alphabet.
10. philologists and linguists expert in ancient Greek are accustomed to drawing the timeline for the first appearance of written Greek from 800 BCE onward (ca. the time of Homer’s Ilad to Attic Greek, ca. 400 BCE).
But I am in fundamental disagreement with this hypothesis. Since Arcado-Cypriot Linear C came to the fore ca. 1100 BCE, a mere 100 years or approximately one century after the fall of Mycenae and the demise of the Linear B syllabary, it is surely open to doubt whether or not the so-called Greek “Dark Ages” actually lasted at least 400 years (ca. 1200 – 800 BCE). So we have to wonder whether or not that small gap of a mere century or so between the demise of the Linear B syllabary (ca. 1200 BCE) and the sudden appearance of Arcado-Cypriot Linear C (ca. 1100 BCE) makes much of a difference at all in the actual timeline for written ancient Greek, which to my mind runs from 1600 BCE, with the advent of Mycenaean Linear B, all the way through to 400 BCE, i.e. for 12 centuries – 1 century (because of the 1 century gap between Linear B and Linear C), i.e. for 11 centuries! This makes for a huge difference between the previously held timeline of a mere 4 centuries from 800 – 400 BCE. It sets back the timeline for Greek civilization 500 years, receding back from 1100 BCE to 1600 BCE. I also strongly object to the commonly held notion that Mycenaean and Mycenaean Minoan Greece was a prehistoric civilization. Since writing did exist in the form of the Linear B syllabary, albeit only in scribal format, I believe we can safely conclude that the Mycenaean civilization was proto-historic. And there is more: if we also take Minoan Linear A into account (which we definitely should), then the proto-historic period, if we are to include the pre-Greek substrate of Minoan society, recedes several centuries more into the distant past, to at least 2,900 BCE! Just because we cannot read the Minoan language does not mean it not also proto-historic phenomenon.
That Arcado-Cypriot Linear C lasted for such a very long time attests to the fact that syllabaries such as Mycenaean Linear B & Arcado-Cypriot Linear C itself were much more suitable to inscribing or writing ancient Greek than most philologists or diachronic historical linguists would care to admit. I shall have plenty to say about this in the article I shall soon be posting on my academia.edu account:
Templates for the layouts of the Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B & Arcado-Cypriot Linear C fonts.
You can download the Linear C font here:
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Archaeology and Science annual: the Decipherment of Supersyllabograms in Linear B, the last & most formidable frontier in the decipherment of Mycenaean Linear B
Archaeology and Science annual: the Decipherment of Supersyllabograms in Linear B, the last & most formidable frontier in the decipherment of Mycenaean Linear B:
For the past 65 years since Michael Ventris first deciphered Linear B, one phenomenon has eluded historical linguists and philologists. This is the supersyllabogram, which is always a single syllabogram, being the first syllabogram, i.e. the first syllable of a particular Mycenaean word in any one or more of the major economic sectors of the Mycenaean economy: agriculture, military, textiles and the vessels and pottery sector, along with a few religious supersyllabograms. Supersyllabograms are always independent; they always stand alone on extant Linear. My discovery, isolation and classification of supersyllabograms represents the final frontier in the decipherment of Mycenaean Linear B. Some 800 tablets from Knossos alone contain primarily supersyllabograms, with a subset of these incised with supersyllabograms and nothing else. It is difficult to decipher the former, and impossible to decipher the latter without fully accounting for the presence of supersyllabograms. The decipherment of supersyllabograms accounts for the last and most difficult remaining 10 % of Mycenaean Linear B to be deciphered.
You may also download “The Decipherment of Supersyllabograms in Linear B” here:
This article is 35 pages long (pp. 73-108) in a 29 cm. x 22 cm. format, which is far oversized compared with the standard north American format for research journals (ca. 20 cm. vertical), meaning that if it had been published in the standard north American format, it would have run to some 50 pp., which is the size of a small book.
The Editorial Board consists of 21 peer reviewers, all of them matriculated professors and researchers at the Ph.D. level or higher, from Ancona, Belgrade, Belgium, Bologna, Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.A., Moscow, Münich, Philadelphia, U.S.A., Rome, Warsaw & Trieste. Every author must pass muster with the majority of these peer reviewers if his or her article is to be published in Archaeology and Science. That is one tall hurdle to overcome.
Note also that I am ranked in the top 0.5 % of all researchers and publishers on academia.edu
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