Linear A

Linear A
Linear A;
	Linear A inscription on a cup
Script type	Undeciphered presumed logosyllabic (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
Unicode range	"U+10600–U+1077F" (PDF).; "Final Accepted Script Proposal" (PDF).

This article contains Linear A Unicode characters. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Linear A.

Linear A is a writing system that was used by the Minoans of Crete from 1800 BC to 1450 BC. 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 the archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in 1900. No texts in Linear A have yet been deciphered. 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.^[3]

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.^[4] In the 1950s, Linear B was deciphered and found to have an underlying language of 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.

^ Daniels, Peter T.; Bright, William (1996). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507993-7.
^ Palaima 1997, pp. 121–188.
^ Robinson, Andrew (2009). Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-40-215757-4.
^ Cite error: The named reference Packard-MLA-C1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1] Daniels, Peter T.; Bright, William (1996). The World's Writing Systems. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-507993-7.

[FOOTNOTEPalaima1997121–188-2] Palaima 1997, pp. 121–188.

[3] Robinson, Andrew (2009). Writing and Script: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-9-40-215757-4.

[Packard-MLA-C1-4] Cite error: The named reference Packard-MLA-C1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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