β Scribed by Ester Salgarella
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
When does a continuum become a divide? This book investigates the genetic relationship between Linear A and Linear B, two Bronze Age scripts attested on Crete and Mainland Greece and understood to have developed one out of the other. By using an interdisciplinary methodology, this research integrates linguistic, epigraphic, palaeographic and archaeological evidence, and places the writing practice in its sociohistorical setting. By challenging traditional views, this work calls into question widespread assumptions and interpretative schemes on the relationship between these two scripts, and opens up new perspectives on the ideology associated with the retention, adaptation and transmission of a script, and how identity was negotiated at a moment of closer societal interaction between Cretans and Greek-speaking Mainlanders in the Late Bronze Age. By delving deeper into the structure and inner workings of these two writing systems, this book will make us rethink the relationship between Linear A and B.
Cover
Half-title page
Title page
Copyright page
Dedication page
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of Abbreviations
1 INTRODUCTION AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
1.1 Setting the Scene
1.2 Questioning Cultural (and Ethnic) βLabelsβ
1.3 Questioning the Unquestionable: Some Theoretical Preliminaries
1.4 Linear A and Linear B: A First Assessment
2 WHAT DOES LINEAR A LOOK LIKE?
2.1 The Nature of the Evidence
2.2 Linear A Structure
2.3 Linear A Palaeography
3 WHAT DOES LINEAR B LOOK LIKE?
3.1 The Nature of the Evidence
3.2 Linear B Structure
3.3 Linear B Palaeography
4 INTERPRETATIVE MODELS
4.1 Structural Model
4.2 Palaeographical Model
5 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS
Bibliography
General Index
Index of Signs Cited
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
In 1952, Minoan Linear B was deciphered and shown to conceal an early form of the Greek language. This book tells the story of how Linear B was discovered, deciphered, and interpreted.