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 ^[1]
Status	Extinct
Direction	left-to-right
Languages	'Minoan' (unknown)
Related scripts
Child systems	Linear B, Cypro-Minoan syllabary ^[2]
Sister systems	Cretan hieroglyphs
ISO 15924
ISO 15924	Lina (400), ​Linear A
Unicode
Unicode alias	Linear A
Unicode range	"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.^[3] In the 1950s, Linear B was deciphered as Mycenaean Greek. Linear B shares many symbols with Linear A, 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.

Script

Most hypotheses about the Linear A script and Minoan language start with Linear B.

Linear A has hundreds of signs, believed to represent syllabic, ideographic, and semantic values in a manner similar to Linear B. While many of those assumed to be syllabic signs are similar to ones in Linear B, approximately 80% of Linear A's logograms are unique;^[4][3] the difference in sound values between Linear A and Linear B signs ranges from 9% to 13%.^[5] It primarily appears in the left-to-right direction, but occasionally appears as a right-to-left or boustrophedon script.

Linear A signs may be divided into four categories:

1. numerals and metrical signs;
2. phonetic signs;
3. ligatures and composite signs;
4. ideograms.

Signary

Linear A: signary and numbering according to E. Bennett. Reading of signs is based on Linear B analogs.

*01-*20		*21-*30		*31-*53		*54-*74		*76-*122		*123-*306
	DA *01		QI *21		SA *31		WA *54		RA2 (RJA) *76		*123
	RO *02		*21^f		*34		NU *55		KA *77		*131a
	PA *03		*21^m		TI *37		PA3 *56		QE *78		*131b
	TE *04		MI? *22		E *38		JA *57		WO2? *79		*131c
	TO *05		*22^f		PI *39		SU *58		MA *80		*164
	NA *06		*22^m		WI *40		TA *59		KU *81		*171
	DI *07		MU *23		SI *41		RA *60		SWA? *82		*180
	A *08		MU *23^m		KE *44		O *61		AU *85		*188
	SE *09		NE *24		DE *45		JU *65		*86		*191
	U *10		RU *26		JE *46		TA2 (TJA) *66		TWE *87		*301
	PO *11		RE *27		*47		KI *67		*100/ *102		*302
	ME *13		I *28		*49		TU *69		*118		*303
	QA2 *16		*28b		PU *50		KO *70		*120		*304
	ZA *17		PU2 *29		DU *51		MI *73		*120b		*305
	ZO *20		NI *30		RI *53		ZE *74		*122		*306

Numbers

Main article: Aegean numerals

Numbers follow a decimal system: units are represented by vertical dashes, tens by horizontal dashes, hundreds by circles, and thousands by circles with rays. There are special symbols to indicate fractions and weights. Specific signs that coincide with numerals are regarded as fractions;^[6] these sign combinations are known as klasmatograms.

Integers can be read and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are quite straightforward, similarly to Roman numerals.^[7]

Aegean numerals

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
𐄇	𐄈	𐄉	𐄊	𐄋	𐄌	𐄍	𐄎	𐄏
10	20	30	40	50	60	70	80	90
𐄐	𐄑	𐄒	𐄓	𐄔	𐄕	𐄖	𐄗	𐄘
100	200	300	400	500	600	700	800	900
𐄙	𐄚	𐄛	𐄜	𐄝	𐄞	𐄟	𐄠	𐄡

Fractions

There is a lack of scholarly agreement on fractions.^[8][9][10]Corazza et al. (2020) proposed the following values, most of which had been previously proposed:^[11]

Proposed values of fraction glyphs^[11]

Abbreviation	Glyph	Value
J	𐝆	1⁄2
E	𐝃	1⁄4
B	𐝁	1⁄5
D	𐝂	1⁄6
F	𐝄	1⁄8
K	𐝇	1⁄10
H	𐝅	1⁄16?
L2	𐝉	1⁄20
A	𐝀	1⁄24?
L3	𐝊	1⁄30
L4	𐝋	1⁄40
L6	𐝌	1⁄60
W	𐝍	= BB? (2⁄5)
X	𐝎	= AA? (1⁄12)
Y	𐝏	?^[a]
Ω	𐝐	?^[a]

Other fractions are composed by addition: the common 𐝕 JE and 𐝓 DD are 3⁄4 and 1⁄3 (2⁄6), 𐝒 BB = 2⁄5, EF = 3⁄8, etc. (and indeed B 1⁄5 looks like it might derive from KK 2⁄10). Corazza et al. (2020) propose that the hapax legomenon, glyph L 𐝈, is spurious.

Several of these values are supported by Linear B. Although Linear B used a different numbering system, several of the Linear A fractions were adopted as fractional units of measurement. For example, Linear B 𐝓 DD and 𐝎 (presumably AA) are 1⁄3 and 1⁄12 of a lana, while 𐝇 K is 1⁄10 of the main unit for dry weight.^[11]

Corpus

 

Linear A incised on tablets found in Akrotiri, Santorini

 

Linear A tablet, Chania Archaeological Museum

Linear A has been unearthed chiefly on Crete, but also at other sites in Greece, as well as Turkey and Israel. The extant corpus, comprising some 1,427 specimens totalling 7,362 to 7,396 signs, if scaled to standard type, would fit easily on two sheets of paper.^[12] Linear A has been written on various media, such as stone offering tables and vessels, gold and silver hairpins, roundels, and ceramics.^[13][14][15] A number of the inscriptions, primarily on tables and vessels, contain a "libation formula" which has been much studied.^[16][17][18] A similar construct in Cretan Hieroglyphics, the "Archanes Formula", is the main proposed link to Linear A.^[19] The earliest inscriptions of Linear A come from Phaistos, in a layer dated at the end of the Middle Minoan II period: that is, no later than c. 1700 BC. Linear A texts have been found throughout the island of Crete and also on some Aegean islands (Kythera, Kea, Thera, Melos), in mainland Greece (Ayos Stephanos), on the west coast of Asia Minor (Miletus, Troy), and in the Levant (Tel Haror).^[20] A few seal stones bearing Linear A have been found.^[21]

Crete

The main discoveries of Linear A tablets, many fragmentary, have been at Hagia Triada, Zakros, and Khania on Crete:^[22]

Inscriptions have been discovered at the following locations on Crete:^[23]

• Apodoulou
• Archanes
• Arkalochori
• Armenoi
• Gournia
• Hagia Triada (147 tablets)
• Kardamoutsa
• Kato Simi
• Khania (98 tablets)^[24]
• Knossos
• Kophinas
• Larani
• Mallia
• Mochlos
• Mount Juktas
• Myrtos Pyrgos
• Nerokourou
• Palaikastro
• Petras
• Petsophas (1 libation table fragment)^[25]
• Phaistos
• Platanos
• Poros, Heraklion
• Prassa
• Pseira (2 Pithoi fragments)^[26]
• Psychro
• Pyrgos Tylissos
• Sitia
• Skhinias
• Skotino cave
• Traostalos
• Troulos
• Vrysinas
• Zakros (31 tablets)

Outside Crete

 

Linear A tablet from the palace of Zakros, Archeological Museum of Sitia

Until 1973, only one Linear A tablet had been found outside Crete (on Kea in the Cyclades).^[27] Since then, other locations have yielded inscriptions.

Most—if not all—inscriptions found outside Crete appear to have been made locally, as indicated by the composition of the substrate and other indications.^[27] Also, close analysis of the inscriptions found outside Crete indicates the use of a script that is somewhere between Linear A and Linear B, combining elements from both.

Other Greek islands

• Kea^[23]
• Kythera^[23]
• Melos^[23][28]
• Samothrace^[23]
• Thera (5 vases, 2 ostraka, and 3 clay tablet fragments)^[29][23]

Mainland Greece

• Mycenae^[23]
• Tiryns^[23]
• Hagios Stephanos, Laconia^[23][30]

Anatolian Mainland

• Miletus (1 vessel fragment)^[31]
• Troy (2 clay spindles)^[32]

A Linear A inscription was said to have been found in southeast Bulgaria.^[33] Another, somewhat more solid, find was at Tel Lachish.^[34] A Minoan graffito found at Tel Haror on a vessel fragment is either Linear A or Cretan hieroglyphs.^[35]

Chronology

See also: Chronology of Linear B

The earliest attestation of Linear A begins around 1800 BC (Middle Minoan IB). It became prominent around 1625 BC (Middle Minoan IIIB) and went out of use around 1450 BC (Late Minoan I). It was contemporary with and possibly derived from Cretan hieroglyphs, and may be an ancestor of Linear B. The sequence and the geographical spread of Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A, and Linear B, the three overlapping but distinct writing systems on Bronze Age Crete and the Greek mainland, can be summarized as follows:^[36]

Writing system	Geographical area	Time span^[b]
Cretan Hieroglyphic	Crete, Samothrace	c. 2100 – 1700 BC
Linear A	Crete, Aegean islands (Kea, Kythera, Melos, Thera), and Greek mainland (Laconia)	c. 1800 – 1450 BC
Linear B	Crete (Knossos), and mainland (Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns)	c. 1450 – 1200 BC

Discovery

See also: Discovery of Linear B

Archaeologist Arthur Evans named the script "Linear" because its characters consisted simply of lines inscribed in clay, in contrast to the more pictographic characters in Cretan hieroglyphs that were used during the same period.^[37]

Several tablets inscribed in signs similar to Linear A were found in the Troad in northwestern Anatolia. While their status is disputed, they may be imports, as there is no evidence of Minoan presence in the Troad. Classification of these signs as a unique Trojan script (proposed by contemporary Russian linguist Nikolai Kazansky) is not accepted by other linguists.

Comparison of Linear A and Linear B

 

Minoan inscriptions, Linear A script

In 1945, E. Pugliese Carratelli first introduced the classification of Linear A and Linear B parallels. However, in 1961, W. C. Brice modified the Pugliese Carratelli system that was based on a wider range of Linear A sources, but Brice did not suggest Linear B equivalents to the Linear A signs. Louis Godart and Jean-Pierre Olivier in the 1985 Recueil des inscriptions en linéaire A (GORILA), based on E.L Bennett's standard numeration of the signs of Linear B, introduced a joint numeration of the Linear A and B signs.^[38]

Phonetic

The majority of signs in the Linear A script appear to have graphical equivalents in the Linear B syllabary. Comparison of the Hagia Triada tablets HT 95 and HT 86 shows that they contain identical lists of words and some kind of phonetic alteration. Scholars who approached Linear A with the phonetic values of Linear B produced a series of identical words. The Linear B–Linear A parallels: ku-ku-da-ra, pa-i-to, ku-mi-na, di-de-ro →di-de-ru, qa-qa-ro→qa-qa-ru, a-ra-na-ro→a-ra-na-re.^[38] Though identical, some of these words, such as ka-pa, are used in much different ways.^[39]

Proposed languages encoded

 

Linear A incised on a jug, also found in Akrotiri

It is difficult to evaluate a given analysis of Linear A as there is little point of reference for reading its inscriptions. The simplest approach to decipherment may be to presume that the values of Linear A match more or less the values given to the deciphered Linear B script, used for Mycenaean Greek.^[40] It has been suggested that Linear A encodes two languages.^[41]

Greek

In 1957, Bulgarian scholar Vladimir I. Georgiev published his Le déchiffrement des inscriptions crétoises en linéaire A ("The decipherment of Cretan inscriptions in Linear A") stating that Linear A contains Greek linguistic elements.^[42] Georgiev then published another work in 1963, titled Les deux langues des inscriptions crétoises en linéaire A ("The two languages of Cretan inscriptions in Linear A"), suggesting that the language of the Hagia Triada tablets was Greek but that the rest of the Linear A corpus was in Hittite-Luwian.^[42][43] In December 1963, Gregory Nagy of Harvard University developed a list of Linear A and Linear B terms based on the assumption "that signs of identical or similar shape in the two scripts will represent similar or identical phonetic values"; Nagy concluded that the language of Linear A bears "Greek-like" and Indo-European elements.^[44] Michael Ventris' decipherment of Linear B in 1952 suggests an old form of Greek: it is derived from Linear A and that the signs related to the Linear A may express the same value as the Linear B. In all Linear B values for related words give a large number of identical forms or identical root forms, but alternate with the final vowel, or almost identical forms among linear texts, mainly those of Hagia Triada.^{[citation needed]}

Extracting conclusions or arguments from a simple morphology can hardly be considered methodologically satisfactory. Yves Duhoux in the "Linear A as Greek" discussion at AEGEANET in March 1998:^[38]

I would like to remind you of some basic facts related to the Greekness of Linear A's language: (1) The word for "total" is different in Linear A and in Linear B: LB to - so(- de); LA > B ku-ro. (2) The Linear B language is significantly less "prefixing" than Linear A. (3) Votive Linear A texts, where we are pretty sure to have variant forms of the same "word", show morphological (I mean: grammatical) features totally different from Linear B. The conclusion must be that even if one can find some casual resemblances between words in both languages (remember this MUST statistically happen: e.g. English and Persian use the same word "bad" to express the meaning of BAD, although it is proven that both words have no genetic relation at all), they are probably structurally different.

Anatolian languages

Since the late 1950s, some scholars have suggested that the Linear A language could be an Anatolian language.^[45]

Luwian

 

Luwian Hieroglyphs

Palmer (1958) put forward a theory, based on Linear B phonetic values, suggesting that Linear A language could be related closely to Luwian.^[45] The theory, however, failed to gain universal support for the following reasons:^{[according to whom?]}

• There is no remarkable resemblance between Minoan and Hitto-Luwian morphology.
• None of the existing theories of the origin of Hitto-Luwian peoples and their migration to Anatolia (either from the Balkans or from the Caucasus) are related to Crete.
• There was a lack of direct contact between Hitto-Luwians and Minoan Crete; the latter was never mentioned in Hitto-Luwian inscriptions. Small states located along the western coast of ancient Asia Minor were natural barriers between Hitto-Luwians and Minoan Crete.
• There were major differences in material culture between the Hitto-Luwian and Minoan civilizations.

There are recent works focused on the Luwian connection, not in terms of the Minoan language being Anatolian, but rather in terms of possible borrowings from Luwian, including the origin of the writing system itself.^[46] Richard Janke has suggested that "Hittite and Luwian cognates often reappear in Linear A".^[47]

Lycian

In an article from 2001, Margalit Finkelberg, Professor of Classics emerita at Tel Aviv University, suggested a "high degree of correspondence between the phonological and morphological system of Minoan and that of Lycian" and proposed that "the language of Linear A is either the direct ancestor of Lycian or a closely related idiom."^[38][48]

Semitic languages

Cyrus H. Gordon, having earlier pointed out that some Linear A words had Semitic roots, first proposed in 1966–1969 that the texts contained Semitic vocabulary that was based on the lexical items such as kull-,^[c] meaning 'all'.^[49][50][3] Gordon uses morphological evidence to suggest that u- serves as a prefix in Linear A like Semitic copula u-. However, Gordon's copula u- is based on an incomplete word, and even if some of Gordon's identifications were true, a complete case for a Semitic language has not yet been built.^[3]

Phoenician

In 2001, the journal Ugarit-Forschungen 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.^[51] This was a continuation of attempts by Cyrus Gordon in finding connections between Minoan and West Semitic languages.

Indo-Iranian

Another recent interpretation, based on the frequencies of the syllabic signs and on complete palaeographic comparative studies, suggests that the Minoan Linear A language belongs to the Indo-Iranian family of Indo-European languages. Studies by Hubert La Marle include a presentation of the morphology of the language, avoid the complete identification of phonetic values between Linear A and B, and also avoid comparing Linear A with Cretan hieroglyphs.^[52] La Marle uses the frequency counts to identify the type of syllables written in Linear A, and takes into account the problem of loanwords in the vocabulary.^[52]

However, La Marle's interpretation of Linear A has been subject to some criticism; it was rejected by John Younger of the University of Kansas who showed that La Marle had invented at will erroneous and arbitrary new transcriptions, based on resemblances with many different script systems (as Phoenician, Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Hieroglyphic Hittite, Ethiopian, Cypro-Minoan, etc.), ignoring established evidence and internal analysis, while for some words La Marle proposes religious meanings inventing names of gods and rites.^[53] La Marle made a rebuttal in "An answer to John G. Younger's remarks on Linear A" in 2010.^[54]

Tyrrhenian

Italian scholar Giulio M. Facchetti attempted to link Linear A to the Tyrrhenian language family comprising Etruscan, Rhaetic, and Lemnian. This family is reasoned to be a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean substratum of the 2nd millennium BC, sometimes referred to as Pre-Greek. Facchetti proposed some possible similarities between the Etruscan language and ancient Lemnian, and other Aegean languages like Minoan.^[55]

Michael Ventris, who (with John Chadwick) successfully deciphered Linear B, also believed in a link between Minoan and Etruscan.^[56] The same perspective is supported by S. Yatsemirsky in Russia and Raymond A. Brown.^[57][58]

Other languages

Monti put forward a Hurrian-Urartian hypothesis based on morphematic elements.^[59] More recently he has changed to the view that "a direct kinship between this language and Hurro-Urartian (or any other ergative language) must be ruled out".^[60] An Indo-European hypothesis was proposed by Witczak and Zawiasa based on an analysis of the combinatory data, mostly in libation formulas.^[61][62] A decipherment based on Proto-Indo-European has also been proposed.^[63] Alexander Akulov and Peter Schrijver proposed that the language of Linear A is a quite close relative of the Hattic language.^[64][65]

Attempts at decipherment of single words

Some researchers suggest that a few words or word elements may be recognized, without (yet) enabling any conclusion about relationship with other languages. In general, they use analogy with Linear B in order to propose phonetic values of the syllabic sounds.^[66] John Younger, in particular, thinks that place names usually appear in certain positions in the texts, and notes that the proposed phonetic values sometimes correspond to known place names as given in Linear B texts (and to modern Greek names). Likewise, in Linear A, MA+RU is suggested to mean wool, and to correspond both to a Linear B pictogram with this meaning, and to the classical Greek word μαλλός with the same meaning (in that case a loan word from Minoan).^[67]

Unicode

Main article: Linear A (Unicode block)

The Linear A alphabet (U+10600–U+1077F) was added to the Unicode Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

Linear A^[1]^[2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

U+1060x

𐘀

𐘁

𐘂

𐘃

𐘄

𐘅

𐘆

𐘇

𐘈

𐘉

𐘊

𐘋

𐘌

𐘍

𐘎

𐘏

U+1061x

𐘐

𐘑

𐘒

𐘓

𐘔

𐘕

𐘖

𐘗

𐘘

𐘙

𐘚

𐘛

𐘜

𐘝

𐘞

𐘟

U+1062x

𐘠

𐘡

𐘢

𐘣

𐘤

𐘥

𐘦

𐘧

𐘨

𐘩

𐘪

𐘫

𐘬

𐘭

𐘮

𐘯

U+1063x

𐘰

𐘱

𐘲

𐘳

𐘴

𐘵

𐘶

𐘷

𐘸

𐘹

𐘺

𐘻

𐘼

𐘽

𐘾

𐘿

U+1064x

𐙀

𐙁

𐙂

𐙃

𐙄

𐙅

𐙆

𐙇

𐙈

𐙉

𐙊

𐙋

𐙌

𐙍

𐙎

𐙏

U+1065x

𐙐

𐙑

𐙒

𐙓

𐙔

𐙕

𐙖

𐙗

𐙘

𐙙

𐙚

𐙛

𐙜

𐙝

𐙞

𐙟

U+1066x

𐙠

𐙡

𐙢

𐙣

𐙤

𐙥

𐙦

𐙧

𐙨

𐙩

𐙪

𐙫

𐙬

𐙭

𐙮

𐙯

U+1067x

𐙰

𐙱

𐙲

𐙳

𐙴

𐙵

𐙶

𐙷

𐙸

𐙹

𐙺

𐙻

𐙼

𐙽

𐙾

𐙿

U+1068x

𐚀

𐚁

𐚂

𐚃

𐚄

𐚅

𐚆

𐚇

𐚈

𐚉

𐚊

𐚋

𐚌

𐚍

𐚎

𐚏

U+1069x

𐚐

𐚑

𐚒

𐚓

𐚔

𐚕

𐚖

𐚗

𐚘

𐚙

𐚚

𐚛

𐚜

𐚝

𐚞

𐚟

U+106Ax

𐚠

𐚡

𐚢

𐚣

𐚤

𐚥

𐚦

𐚧

𐚨

𐚩

𐚪

𐚫

𐚬

𐚭

𐚮

𐚯

U+106Bx

𐚰

𐚱

𐚲

𐚳

𐚴

𐚵

𐚶

𐚷

𐚸

𐚹

𐚺

𐚻

𐚼

𐚽

𐚾

𐚿

U+106Cx

𐛀

𐛁

𐛂

𐛃

𐛄

𐛅

𐛆

𐛇

𐛈

𐛉

𐛊

𐛋

𐛌

𐛍

𐛎

𐛏

U+106Dx

𐛐

𐛑

𐛒

𐛓

𐛔

𐛕

𐛖

𐛗

𐛘

𐛙

𐛚

𐛛

𐛜

𐛝

𐛞

𐛟

U+106Ex

𐛠

𐛡

𐛢

𐛣

𐛤

𐛥

𐛦

𐛧

𐛨

𐛩

𐛪

𐛫

𐛬

𐛭

𐛮

𐛯

U+106Fx

𐛰

𐛱

𐛲

𐛳

𐛴

𐛵

𐛶

𐛷

𐛸

𐛹

𐛺

𐛻

𐛼

𐛽

𐛾

𐛿

U+1070x

𐜀

𐜁

𐜂

𐜃

𐜄

𐜅

𐜆

𐜇

𐜈

𐜉

𐜊

𐜋

𐜌

𐜍

𐜎

𐜏

U+1071x

𐜐

𐜑

𐜒

𐜓

𐜔

𐜕

𐜖

𐜗

𐜘

𐜙

𐜚

𐜛

𐜜

𐜝

𐜞

𐜟

U+1072x

𐜠

𐜡

𐜢

𐜣

𐜤

𐜥

𐜦

𐜧

𐜨

𐜩

𐜪

𐜫

𐜬

𐜭

𐜮

𐜯

U+1073x

𐜰

𐜱

𐜲

𐜳

𐜴

𐜵

𐜶

U+1074x

𐝀

𐝁

𐝂

𐝃

𐝄

𐝅

𐝆

𐝇

𐝈

𐝉

𐝊

𐝋

𐝌

𐝍

𐝎

𐝏

U+1075x

𐝐

𐝑

𐝒

𐝓

𐝔

𐝕

U+1076x

𐝠

𐝡

𐝢

𐝣

𐝤

𐝥

𐝦

𐝧

U+1077x

Notes 1.^ As of Unicode version 15.1 2.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points

See also

• Aegean numbers
• Cypro-Minoan syllabary
• Phaistos Disc
• Arkalochori Axe
• Dispilio Tablet
• Old European script
• Trojan script

Notes

1. Ω is a hapax legomenon, and no researcher has yet determined a value for Y.
2. Beginning date refers to first attestations, the assumed origins of all scripts lie further back in the past.
3. Compare with Akkadian kalu, kullatu (𒅗𒆷, 𒆰𒆷𒌅), Hebrew "kol" (כֹּל), and Arabic "kull" (كُلّ).

References

1. Daniels & Bright 1996, pp. 132.
2. Palaima 1997, pp. 121–188.
3. Packard 1974, Chapter 1: Introduction.
4. Younger, John (2000). "7b. The Script". Linear A texts in phonetic transcription. University of Kansas.
5. Owens 1999, pp. 23–24 (David Packard, in 1974, calculated a sound-value difference of 10.80 ± 1.80%, Yves Duhoux, in 1989, calculated a sound-value difference of 14.34% ± 1.80% and Gareth Owens, in 1996, calculated a sound-value difference of 9–13%).
6. Packard 1974, pp. 23–24
7. Anderson, W. French (1 July 1958). "Arithmetical Procedure in Minoan Linear A and in Minoan-Greek Linear B". American Journal of Archaeology. 62 (3): 363–368. doi:10.2307/501989. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 501989. S2CID 193020404.
8. Billigmeier, Jon C. (1 October 1973). "Linear A Fractions: A New Approach". American Journal of Archaeology. 77 (1): 61–65. doi:10.2307/503234. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 503234. S2CID 191382050.
9. Bennett, Emmett L. (1 January 1980). "Linear A fractional retractation". Kadmos. 19 (1): 12–23. doi:10.1515/kadmos-1980-0104. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 163961065.
10. Schrijver, Peter (1 July 2014). "Fractions and food rations in Linear A". Kadmos. 53 (1–2): 1–44. doi:10.1515/kadmos-2014-0001. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 164932371.
11. Corazza, Michele; Ferrara, Silvia; Montecchi, Barbara; Tamburini, Fabio; Valério, Miguel (2020). "The mathematical values of fraction signs in the Linear A script: A computational, statistical and typological approach". Journal of Archaeological Science. 125: 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2020.105214. hdl:11585/789546. S2CID 225229514.
12. Younger, John (2000). "5. Basic statistics". Linear A texts in phonetic transcription. University of Kansas. If there are 4,002 characters (font Times, pitch 12, no spaces) on an 8¹⁄₂ × 11 inch sheet of paper with 1 inch margins, all extant Linear A would take up 1.84 pages. ... (14.34 pages for Linear B).
13. Erik Hallager, "The Minoan Roundel and Other Sealed Documents in the Neopalatial Linear A Administration", Peeters Publishers, 31 Dec 1996 ISBN 9789042924130
14. Winterstein, Gregoire; Cacciafoco, Francesco Perono; Petrolito, Ruggero; Petrolito, Tommaso (2015). "Minoan linguistic resources: The Linear A digital corpus". Proceedings of the 9th SIGHUM Workshop on Language Technology for Cultural Heritage, Social Sciences, and Humanities (LaTeCH) – via Academia.edu.
15. Brent Davis, Minoan Stone Vessels with Linear A Inscriptions. AEGAEUM, 36. Leuven; Liège: Peeters, 2014. xxiv, 421. ISBN 9789042930971
16. W. C. Brice, "The Minoan “Libation Formula”", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 48.1 (1965)
17. Thomas, Rose (1 December 2020). "Some reflections on morphology in the language of the Linear A libation formula" (PDF). Kadmos. 59 (1–2): 1–23. doi:10.1515/kadmos-2020-0001. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 235451899.
18. Davis, Brent (1 December 2013). "Syntax in Linear A: The Word-Order of the 'Libation Formula'". Kadmos. 52 (1): 35–52. doi:10.1515/kadmos-2013-0003. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 163948869.
19. Ferrara, Silvia; Montecchi, Barbara; Valério, Miguel (December 2021). "What is the 'Archanes Formula'? Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Earliest Attestation of Writing in the Aegean". Annual of the British School at Athens. 116: 43–62. doi:10.1017/S0068245420000155. hdl:11585/833390. ISSN 0068-2454. S2CID 236307210.
20. Woudhuizen, Fred C. (2016). Documents in Minoan Luwian, Semitic, and Pelasgian. Amsterdam: Nederlands Archeologisch Historisch Genootschap. ISBN 9789072067197. OCLC 1027956786.
21. Civitillo, Matilde (2023). "Comparing Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A seal stones: a preliminary assessment of forms, materials, sequences, uses". Ariadne Supplement Series. ISSN 2623-4726.
22. Schoep 1999, pp. 201–221.
23. Cacciafoco, Francesco Perono (January 2014). Linear A and Minoan. The riddle of unknown origins. Linear a and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins (slides). pp. 3–4. Retrieved 13 July 2020 – via Academia.edu.
24. Hallager, Erik; Andreadaki-Vlazaki, Maria (1 July 2018). "Some unpublished Linear A documents from Khania". Kadmos. 57 (1–2): 33–44. doi:10.1515/kadmos-2018-0004. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 204963634.
25. DRIESSEN, JAN. "A FRAGMENTARY LINEAR A INSCRIPTION FROM PETSOPHAS, PALAIKASTRO (PK ZA 20)", KADMOS, vol. 33, no. 2, 1994, pp. 149–152
26. FLOYD, CHERYL R.. "FRAGMENTS FROM TWO PITHOI WITH LINEAR A INSCRIPTIONS FROM PSEIRA", KADMOS, vol. 34, no. 1, 1995, pp. 39–48
27. Finkelberg 1998, pp. 265–272.
28. [1] Sampson, Adamantios, "Symbols of Minoan Hieroglyphic Script and Linear A in Melos from the Middle of 3rd Millennium BC", Annals of Archaeology 5.1, pp. 1–10, 2023
29. BENNETT, SIMON M. and OWENS, GARETH A.. "THE DATING OF THE LINEAR A INSCRIPTIONS FROM THERA", KADMOS, vol. 38, no. 1–2, 1999, pp. 12–18
30. Pullen, Daniel J. (2009). "[Review of] W.D. Taylour & R. Janko, Ayios Stephanos: Excavations at a Bronze Age and Medieval Settlement in Southern Laconia. British School at Athens, 2008". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Its location on the Laconian coast, easily accessible from Kythera, undoubtedly encouraged early contacts with Crete whether directly or indirectly (see the Linear A sign catalogued in chapter 11).
31. NIEMEIER, WOLF-DlETRICH. "A LINEAR A INSCRIPTION FROM MILETUS (MIL Zb 1)", KADMOS, vol. 35, no. 2, 1996, pp. 87–99.
32. L. Godart, La scrittura di Troia. Rendicontidella Classe di scienze morali, storiche e filologiche dell'Ac-cademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Ser. IX, 5, 1994, pp. 457–460, 1994
33. Fol, Alexander, Schmitt, Sofia and Schmitt, Rüdiger. "A Linear A Text on a Clay Reel from Drama, South-East Bulgaria?", Praehistorische Zeitschrift, vol. 75, no. 1, 2000, pp. 56–62
34. Finkelberg et al. 1996: M. Finkelberg/A. Uchitel/D. Ussishkin, A Linear A Inscription from Tel Lachish (LACH Za 1). TelAviv 23, 1996, 195–207
35. Olivier, Jean-Pierre. "A Minoan graffito from Tel Haror (Negev, Israel)." Cretan studies 5 (1996): 98–109
36. Olivier 1986, pp. 377f.
37. Robinson 2009, p. 54.
38. Finkelberg, Margalit (2001). "The Language of Linear A: Greek, Semitic, or Anatolian?". In Drews, Robert (ed.). Greater Anatolia and the Indo-Hittite Language Family. Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series. Vol. 38. pp. 81–105. ISBN 978-0941694773 – via Academia.edu.
39. Uchitel, A. (2003). "HT 94.", Minos, 37/38, pp. 81–88
40. Younger, John (2000). "1. List of Linked Files". Linear A texts in phonetic transcription. University of Kansas. A comprehensive list of known texts written in Linear A.
41. Chadwick J., "Introduction to the problems of ‘Minoan Linear A’", JRAS 2, pp. 143–147, 1975
42. Nagy 1963, p. 210 (Footnote #24).
43. Georgiev 1963, pp. 1–104.
44. Nagy 1963, pp. 181–211.
45. Palmer 1958, pp. 75–100.
46. Marangozis, John (2006). An introduction to Minoan Linear A. LINCOM Europa.
47. [2] Janke, Richard Vallance, and X. V. I. Sonnet. "The influence of Hittite and digraphia on Minoan Linear A proto-Greek libation invocations.
48. [3] Kazansky N.N., 2012. The Evidence for Lycian in the Linear A Syllabary
49. Gordon, C. (1957). Notes on Minoan Linear A. Antiquity, 31(123), 124–130
50. Rendsburg, Gary A. (2001). "Cyrus H. Gordon (1908–2001): A Giant among Scholars". The Jewish Quarterly Review. 92 (1/2): 137–143. ISSN 0021-6682. JSTOR 1455617.
51. Dietrich & Loretz 2001.
52. La Marle, Hubert. Linéaire A, la première écriture syllabique de Crète. Paris: Geuthner, 4 Volumes, 1997–1999, 2006; Introduction au linéaire A. Geuthner, Paris, 2002; L'aventure de l'alphabet: les écritures cursives et linéaires du Proche-Orient et de l'Europe du sud-est à l'Âge du Bronze. Paris: Geuthner, 2002; Les racines du crétois ancien et leur morphologie: communication à l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres, 2007.
53. Younger, John (2009). "Linear A: Critique of Decipherments by Hubert La Marle and Kjell Aartun". University of Kansas. According to Younger, La Marle "assigns phonetic values to Linear signs based on superficial resemblances to signs in other scripts (the choice of scripts being already prejudiced to include only those from the eastern Mediterranean and northeast Africa), as if C looks like O so it must be O."
54. La Marle, Hubert (September 2010). An answer to John G. Younger's remarks on Linear A (Report) – via Academia.edu.
55. Facchetti & Negri 2003.
56. Chadwick 1967, p. 34: "The basic idea was to find a language which might be related to Minoan. Ventris' candidate was Etruscan; not a bad guess, because the Etruscans, according to ancient tradition, came from the Aegean to Italy.".
57. Yatsemirsky 2011.
58. Brown 1985, p. 289.
59. Monti O. 2002, "Observations sur la langue du linéaire A", Kadmos 41, pp. 117–120
60. Monti, Orazio, "Some observations on the language of Linear A", Kadmos, vol. 61, no. 1-2, pp. 107–116, 2022
61. Witczak K.T. 2000: "Minojska Wielka Bogini – istniaía czy nie?", Do-so-mo 1, pp. 37–51
62. Witczak K.T. – Zawiasa D. 2002–2003: "Tor All the Gods'. Studies in the Votive Sentences in Three Cretan Scripts (Hieroglyphic, Linear A and Linear B)", Do-so-mo 2–3, pp. 37–57
63. Lee Buchwalder, "Linear A & The Decipherment of Minoan Language", Branch Publishing LLC (June 25, 2020) ISBN 978-1735187419
64. Akulov, A. 2021. The deciphering of the Linear A tablet Malia 10. Cultural Anthropology and Ethnosemiotics, Vol. 7, № 3; pp.: 8 – 18
65. Schrijver, P. 2019. Talking Neolithic: the case for Hatto-Minoan and its relationship to Sumerian, Proceedings of the workshop on Indo-European origins held at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, December 2–3, 2013
66. Hooker, J. T. "Problems and Methods in the Decipherment of Linear A.", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 2, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1975, pp. 164–72
67. Younger, John (2000). "10c. Place names". Linear A texts in phonetic transcription. University of Kansas.

Works cited

• Brown, Raymond A. (1985). Evidence for pre-Greek speech on Crete from Greek alphabetic sources. Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert. ISBN 978-9-02-560876-7.
• Chadwick, John (1967). The Decipherment of Linear B. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-39830-5.
• Cook, Mark. (2022). Rewriting History: The decipherment of Linear A and a history of Egypto-Cretan relations in the Middle and Late Bronze Ages. Sydney. ISBN 978-0-646-86541-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Daniels, Peter T.; Bright, William (1996). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507993-7.
• Dietrich, Manfried; Loretz, Oswald (2001). In Memoriam: Cyrus H. Gordon. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-934628-00-7.
• Facchetti, Giulio M.; Negri, Mario (2003). Creta Minoica: Sulle tracce delle più antiche scritture d'Europa (in Italian). Firenze: L.S. Olschki. ISBN 978-88-222-5291-3.
• Finkelberg, Margalit (1998). (PDF). In Cline, E.H.; Harris-Cline, D. (eds.). The Aegean and the Orient in the Second Millennium. Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Symposium, Cincinnati, 18–20 April 1997. Liège 1998. Aegeum. Vol. 18. pp. 265–272. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2016.
• Georgiev, Vladimir I. (1963). "Les deux langues des inscriptions crétoises en linéaire A". Linguistique Balkanique (in French). 7 (1): 1–104.
• Nagy, Gregory (1 December 1963). "Greek-Like Elements in Linear A". Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. Harvard University Press. 4 (4): 181–211. ISSN 2159-3159.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
• Olivier, J.P. (1986). "Cretan Writing in the Second Millennium B.C." World Archaeology. 17 (3): 377–389. doi:10.1080/00438243.1986.9979977. ISSN 0043-8243.
• Owens, Gareth (1999). (PDF). Journal of Indo-European Studies. 27 (1–2): 15–56. ISSN 0092-2323. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
• Owens, Gareth Alun (2007). [The Structure of the Minoan Language] (PDF) (in Greek). Heraklion: TEI of Crete –Daidalika. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
• Packard, David W. (1974). Minoan Linear A. Berkeley / Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02580-6.
• Palaima, Thomas G. (1997) [1989]. "Cypro-Minoan Scripts: Problems of Historical Context". In Duhoux, Yves; Palaima, Thomas G.; Bennet, John (eds.). Problems in Decipherment. Louvain-La-Neuve: Peeters. pp. 121–188. ISBN 978-90-6831-177-8.
• Palmer, Leonard Robert (1958). "Luvian and Linear A". Transactions of the Philological Society. 57 (1): 75–100. doi:10.1111/j.1467-968X.1958.tb01273.x. ISSN 0079-1636.
• Robinson, Andrew (2009). Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-40-215757-4.
• Schoep, Ilse (1999). "Tablets and Territories? Reconstructing Late Minoan IB Political Geography through Undeciphered Documents". American Journal of Archaeology. 103 (2): 201–221. doi:10.2307/506745. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 506745. S2CID 155632843.
• van Soesbergen, Peter (2016). "Part 1, Text". Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Minoan Linear A. Vol. I. Amsterdam: Brave New Books. ISBN 978-0-19-956778-2.
• Yatsemirsky, Sergei A. (2011). Opyt sravnitel'nogo opisaniya minoyskogo, etrusskogo i rodstvennyh im yazykov [Tentative Comparative Description of Minoan, Etruscan and Related Languages] (in Russian). Moscow: Yazyki slavyanskoy kul'tury. ISBN 978-5-9551-0479-9.

Further reading

• Best, Jan G. P. (1972). Some Preliminary Remarks on the Decipherment of Linear A. Amsterdam: Hakkert.
• Davis, S. (March 1959). "New Light on Linear A". Greece & Rome. 6 (1): 20–30. doi:10.1017/S0017383500013231. ISSN 1477-4550. JSTOR 641970. S2CID 162763789.
• Facchetti, Giulio M. (2003). "ON SOME RECENT ATTEMPTS TO IDENTIFY LINEAR A MINOAN LANGUAGE". Minos (37–38): 89–94. ISSN 0544-3733.
• Gordon, Cyrus H. (1958). "Minoan Linear A". Journal of Near Eastern Studies. 17 (4): 245–255. doi:10.1086/371479. ISSN 0022-2968. JSTOR 542386. S2CID 161866359.
• Ferrara, Silvia; Valério, Miguel; Montecchi, Barbara (2022). "The Relationship between Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A: a palaeographic and structural approach" (PDF). Pasiphae – Journal of Aegean Philology and Antiquity. 26 (16): 81–109. doi:10.19272/202233301006. ISSN 2037-738X.
• Judson, A. P. (2020). The Undeciphered Signs of Linear B. Interpretation and Scribal Practices. Cambridge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Marangozis, John (2007). An introduction to Minoan Linear A. LINCOM Europa, ISBN 3-89586-386-6
• Montecchi, Barbara (January 2010). "A Classification Proposal of Linear A Tablets from Haghia Triada in Classes and Series". Kadmos. 49 (1): 11–38. doi:10.1515/KADMOS.2010.002. ISSN 0022-7498. S2CID 124902710.
• Montecchi, Barbara, "Rebus compositions in Linear A?", Kadmos, vol. 61, no. 1–2, pp. 97–106, 2022
• Nagy, Gregory (October 1965). "Observations on the Sign-Grouping and Vocabulary of Linear A". American Journal of Archaeology. 69 (4): 295–330. doi:10.2307/502181. ISSN 0002-9114. JSTOR 502181. S2CID 191385596.
• Notti, Erika (2010). "The Theran Epigraphic Corpus of Linear A : Geographical and Chronological Implications". Pasiphae (4): 93–96. doi:10.1400/168368. ISSN 2037-738X.
• Notti, Erika, "Writing in Late Bronze Age Thera. Further Observations on the Theran Corpus of Linear A", Pasiphae, vol. 000, no. 015, 2021 ISSN: 2037-738X
• Palmer, Ruth (1995). (PDF). Aegeum. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
• Revesz, Peter (2017). "Establishing the West-Ugric Language Family with Minoan, Hattic and Hungarian by a Decipherment of Linear A" (PDF). WSEAS Transactions on Information Science and Applications. 14: 306–335.
• Salgarella, Ester (2020). Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108479387.
• Salgarella, Ester (2022). "Linear A". Oxford Classical Dictionary. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8927 (inactive 1 August 2023). ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of August 2023 (link)
• Salgarella, Ester, "Drawing lines: The palaeography of Linear A and Linear B", Kadmos, vol. 58, no. 1–2, pp. 61–92, 2019 doi:10.1515/kadmos-2019-0004
• Schoep, Ilse (2002). "The Administration of Neopalatial Crete. A Critical Assessment of the Linear A Tablets and their Role in the Administrative Process". Minos. Salamanca (Supplementary Volume no. 17): 1–230. ISSN 0544-3733. OCLC 52610144.
• Thomas, Helena (2003). Understanding the transition from Linear A to Linear B script (D. Phil. thesis). University of Oxford. Unpublished PhD dissertation. Supervisor: Professor John Bennet. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 311–338).
• Woodard, Roger D. (1997). Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-510520-9. (Review 19 February 2006 at the Wayback Machine)

External links

• Cracking the Cretan code Ester Salgarella AEON 2022
• The mathematical values of Linear A fraction signs – Science Daily – September 8, 2020
• Linear A Texts in Phonetic Transcription by John Younger (Last Update: 10 July 2020).
• Interactive database of Linear A inscriptions Description
• DAIDALIKA – Scripts and Languages of Minoan and Mycenaean Crete 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
• Omniglot: Writing Systems & Languages of the World
• Mnamon: Antiche Scritture del Mediterraneo (Antique Writings of the Mediterranean)
• GORILA Volume 1
• Linear A Explorer
• Interpretation of the Linear A Scripts by Gia Kvashilava