Linear A
Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 to 1450 BC to write the hypothesized Minoan language or languages. Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It was succeeded by Linear B, which was used by the Mycenaeans to write an early form of Greek. It was discovered by archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. No texts in Linear A have yet been deciphered.
| Linear A | |
|---|---|
Linear A inscription on a cup | |
| Script type | Undeciphered
(presumed syllabic and ideographic) |
Time period | MM IB to LM IIIA 1800–1450 BC |
| Status | Extinct |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| Languages | 'Minoan' (unknown) |
| Related scripts | |
Child systems | Linear B, Cypro-Minoan syllabary |
Sister systems | Cretan hieroglyphs |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Lina (400), Linear A |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Linear A |
| "U+10600–U+1077F" (PDF). "Final Accepted Script Proposal" (PDF). | |
The term linear refers to the fact that the script was written using a stylus to cut lines into a tablet of clay, as opposed to cuneiform, which was written by using a stylus to press wedges into the clay.
Linear A belongs to a group of scripts that evolved independently of the Egyptian and Mesopotamian systems. During the second millennium BC, there were four major branches: Linear A, Linear B, Cypro-Minoan, and Cretan hieroglyphic. In the 1950s, Linear B was deciphered as Mycenaean Greek. Linear A shares many symbols with Linear B, and they may notate similar syllabic values, but neither those nor any other proposed readings lead to a language that scholars can read. The only part of the script that can be read with any certainty is the signs for numbers – which are, however, only known as numerical values; the words for those numbers remain unknown.