Linear A
|
Linear A etched on tablets found in Akrotiri, Santorini. |
Linear A is an
undeciphered script used in ancient
Crete. Its
decipherment is one of the "
holy grails" of ancient scripts.
A related script,
Linear B, was deciphered in the
1950s by
Michael Ventris as representing an ancient form of
Greek.
 |
Linear A etched on a vase, also found in Akrotiri. |
Though the two scripts share many of the same symbols, using the
syllables associated with Linear B in Linear A writings produces words that are unrelated to any known
language. This language has been dubbed Minoan or
Eteocretan, and corresponds to a period in
Cretan history prior to a series of invasions by
Mycenean Greeks around
1400 BC.
As the Minoan language is lost to the modern day, it is hard to be certain whether or not a given decipherment is the correct decipherment, or merely
gibberish being generated by an incorrect mapping of
symbols to
sounds. However, the simplest approach to decipherment may to be to simply presume that the values of Linear A match more or less the values given to the fully translated
Linear B script, used for Mycenean Greek. A site maintained by John Younger has a comprehensive list of known texts written in Linear A at [
1]. Some religious formulae have been identified, some even bearing resemblance grammatically to the
Etruscan language.
As for example, it goes the Glossopoeia /gol'sə'piə/. One believes the word was derived from Greek's γλῶσσα (glôssa = 'tongue, language') and the root ποιε- (poie- = to make, to create) [
2]. In fact the word γλωσσοποιΐα itself (Latinized after reforming in modern as 'glossopoeia') did exist among the ancient vocalized ethnic communities with the meaning of 'making by mouth-pieces', since one of the meaning of golôss is the reed or mouth-piece of the voise.
However, the Greek word 'glossopoeia' was, so to speak, brought back to life last century with new meaning of "language creation" to denote the invention, divising, compiling (or whatever other term may be used) of those languages known variously to be part of a proto-language. There are languages whose phonology and vocabulary are kept by an individual or a small groups as the [
3].
Since it remains undeciphered yet, it is difficult to ascertain specific features of this language. A connection has been noted between the sequence
(Y)A-SA-SA-RA-ME, found in an oft-repeated formula inscribed on libation tables and a West Semitic fertility goddess known as Ashtoreth Yam (or "Lady of the Sea"). A possible marker for the genitive (or possessive) case may exist: -NA or -NE.
In
2001, the journal
Ugarit-Forschungen, Band 32 [
4] [
5] published the article "The First Inscription in Punic—Vowel Differences in Linear A and B" by
Jan Best, claiming to demonstrate how and why Linear A notates an archaic form of
Phoenician. This was a continuation of attempts by Cyrus Gordon in finding connections between Minoan and West Semitic languages. His methodology drew widespread criticism. While some words may indeed be of Semitic origin (such as KU-RO, suspected to mean "total", cf. Sem *[kll] "whole, all"), there is as of yet no real success made in connecting Minoan with Semitic languages.
The only word deciphered so far, with certainty, the summarizing term KU-RO, can illustrate the depths of problems arising with the decipherment attempts. This word, though undoubtedly meaning "whole", could be of both Indo-European (*kwol), or Semitic (*kll) origin. And the word
churu in Etruscan has the same meaning.
Around the same time, M. Tsikritsis, a Greek computer scientist and a text analysis specialist used a statistical and machine comparison of Linear A and Linear B symbols to conclude that Linear A was an early
aeolic dialect of Greek, and essentially a form of Linear B with a variety of
archaisms. Critics of this theory state that Linear A shows no detectable signs of the prototypical features recognizable from the Indo-European language group to which Greek belongs, let alone features resembling Greek itself.
Usually, it is a more or less accepted viewpoint to group the 'Minoan' language of the linear A inscriptions together with
Eteocretan (its likely descendant), and
Eteocypriot, into the group of
Aegean languages, but without any precise knowledge about the underlying languages, their relationships, or grammatical structure.
A stone ladle from Troullos (given the Linear B values) reads:
a-ta-i-dju-wa-ja o-su-ga-re ya-sa-sa-ra-me u-na-ka-na-si i-pi-na-ma si-ru-te*
a-ta-i-dju-wa-ja (or
a-ta-i-θu-wa-ja?) is possibly the name of a goddess (mayba related to the Etruscan sun goddess
Catha)This 'word' also appears in another form, as
a-ta-i-dju-wa-e. This could be a compound as
-i-dju- also appears ing another 'word'
ta-na-i-dju-u-ti-nu.
*
o-su-ga-re Probably a personal or place name
*
ja-sa-sa-ra-me as said above could be the name of the goddess
Ashtoreth Yam. Another possibility for comparison from Hittite is
hassussara (queen), with an added suffix
-me, which would quite likely mean 'my' if it is indeed a Hittite word; this means that the word
ya-sa-sa-ra-me might mean 'my queen'. It is not impossible, though it is a stretch, to suppose that this somehow morphed into the Greek goddess
Hera. Another, though more tentative explanation would be, to compare it to the Hittite
ashar (woman). Some have even suggested a comparison with Etruscan
ais, meaning 'god'. Alternatively(and extremely tentatively) it could be related to the Etruscan verb
alsase "dedicated".
Ja-sa-sa-ra- appears with a number of suffixes. These are
-me,
-ma-na and
-a-na-ne. Tentativly these may be suffix pronouns at the end of a verb.
ja-sa-sa-ra-me = "I have dedicated" (Etruscan
*mi alsase)
ja-sa-sa-ra-ma-na= "We have dedicated" (Etruscan
mi +
-ne plural (like the Japanese
watashi/watashi-tachi}
ja-sa-ra-a-na-ne= "They have dedicated" (Etruscan 3rd person
an + -ne plural)
*
u-na-ka-na-si is sometimes read together, and might be a compound, since examples exist with u-na-re-ka-na-ti (plural?), and u-na-ru-ka-[damaged]-ja-si. It might be comparable, as some suggest, with the Etruscan
unchva cenase(bearing libations).If it is like the Etruscan it would support the theory that the
-re suffix is the plural as with the Etruscan
un libation (singular)
unar libations (plural)
''qe-? [worker ideogram].?-ru-ja 3me-ri-ja 4?-na-ko da-rete-ro2 1
The first word is most likely to be a name of a person or place. The second sign seems to depict a man with his hands bound behind his back. Then follow two words, one reading ?-ru-ja
with the numeral 3, the other reading me-li-ja
and the numeral 4. The -ja
ending also occurs in Linear B, meaning "women of", so me-li-ja 4
may mean "4 women of Meli". Meli
once the i
from the declension has been removed, if similar to Linear B, would read melu
or melo
, which may be the name of the Aegean island of Melos where Linear A tablets have been unearthed.
The 'Haghia Triada tablet 13' may read:
ka-u-de-ta [wine ideogram]. te. re-za 5½ te-ro2 56 te-ki 27½ ku-do-ni 18 da-si-dja 19 ?-su-?-si 5 ku-ro 130½''
ka-u-de-ta like above is probably a name. This is followed by an ideogram almost identical to one in Linear B meaning 'wine'.
te and may be related to the Hittite
ta meaning 'take' or
da 'give' meaning that the sentence would read
wine taken from or
wine distributed to, it may also be related to the Greek
te 'take'.
These words are followed by a list of seven names each followed by a numeral. One name
ku-do-ni, as mentioned below, may be the name of the Minoan town of Kydonia. The following word (likely another place-name) can be (highly tentatively) transliterated as da-si-dja(or maybe
da-si-θa?) ?=
Lasithia? Another name,
te-ki may, though less likely than the above, be the name of the settement of Tegea on Crete. The last word is
ku-ro which, as again mentioned below, probably means 'total' or whole''.
KU-RO :
whole, total.
KI-RO :
missing, debt.
PO-TO-KU-RO :
grand total.
SE-TO-I-JA : place name, likely
Archanes, as
Owens has suggested. Occurs in Linear B as well.
PA-I-TO : place name,
Phaistos. The same name is common on Linear B documents.
KU-DO-NI : if the reading is correct, a place name,
Kydonia, the same as modern
ChaniaKU-NI-SU : appears to be a place name, perhaps
Knossos, though it differs from Linear B
KO-NO-SO.
TU-RU-SA : likely a place name,
Tylissos.
RU+JA (the two signs joined together into one):
pomegranate, same as Classic Greek
rhoia.
MA+RU (joined together):
wool, same as later Greek
mallos. (Both loanwords in Greek from Cretan source?)
SA-SA-ME :
sesame; the same commodity occurs in Linear B.
A-MA-JA and
A-MA : divine name,
Amaja, the Minoan goddess of healing (known from the London Medical Papyrus). Supposedly connected to the Greek
Maia, mother of Apollon.
PA-DE : divine name of an unknown god, appearing on Linear B tablets as well.
RA2-TI : theoretized to represent
Razija, the Minoan Great Goddess, whose connection to the Classical Greek
Rhea, mother of gods, is obvious.
*
Apoudoulou*
Arkalochori*
Arkhanes*
Armenoi*
Gournia*
Hagia Triada has yielded the largest corpus of Linear A inscriptions
*
Haghios Stephanos*
Kardamoutsa*
Kato Syme (also Kato Symi)
*
Kea*
Khania*
Knossos*
Kophinas*
Larani*
Mallia (also Malia)
*
Miletos (also Miletus)
*
Melos*
Mochlos (also Mokhlos)
*
Mount Juktas (also Iouktas)
*
Mycenae*
Nerokourou*
Palaikastro*
Petras*
Petsophas*
Phaistos*
Platanos*
Poros Herakleiou*
Prassa*
Pseira*
Psychro (also Psykhro)
*
Pyrgos*
Pyrgos Tylissos*
Samothrace*
Skhinia*
Sitia*
Skoteino Cave*
Tel Haror*
Thera*
Tiryns*
Traostalos*
Trullos (also Troullos)
*
Vrysinas*
Zakros* M. Tsikritsis,
Linear A. A Contribution to the Understanding of an Aegean Script, Vikelaia Library of Herakleion, Crete, Greece. (in Greek)
* Minoan Linear A Script. An Early Aeolic Greek Dialect? [
6]
*
Ugarit-Forschungen Band 32, ISBN 3934628001
*
Some preliminary remarks on the decipherment of Linear A. By Jan G. P. Best, ISBN 9025606253
*Roger D. Woodard,
Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer. New York: Oxford University Press (1997). ISBN 0-19-510520-6 (
review)
*
Linear B*
Linear C*
Cretan hieroglyphs*
Phaistos Disc*
Linear A Texts**
Bibliography*
Omniglot
