Thu 08 September 2022
| tags: Historical Linguistics Writing
Timeline of Major Script Groups
It's UN International Literacy Day!
This timeline shows a very compressed history of writing, organized into major groups of scripts.
Independent Invention
While many writing systems have been invented over the millennia, very few of them were ever created completely from scratch by people who had never encountered any other writing. There are only two clear examples of such de novo inventions of writing: one in Mesopotamia and/or Egypt and one in Mesoamerica.
Egyptian hieroglyphs are sometimes counted as a separate independent invention of writing, but I think that's not supportable given the proximity in time and space to Mesopotamian cuneiform. There are reasonable discussions to be had about whether that process started in Mesopotamia or EgyptโI say Mesopotamiaโbut I don't think there's any question that there was influence.
Chinese characters are also sometimes proposed as an independent invention, but again I don't see how that is possible. The Shang Dynasty shows a very similar process of rapid invention of writing as part of a process of defining a national identity as we see in the lead up to First Dynasty Egypt. It would also require assuming that China remained isolated from the international Mediterranean/Western Asia/India trade network for nearly 2000 years, which is practically impossible (China's national myths notwithstanding).
Decipherment
For each cuneiform, hieroglyphs, and Mesoamerican scripts there was a period when working knowledge of the script was lost before being recovered through decipherment in the 19th-20th centuries.
Embedded examples
Each of the images embedded in the timelines is a representation of a specific, preserved piece writing:
Cuneiform
Archaic cuneiform tablet of E.A. Hoffman (Proto-cuneiform tablet, Jemdet Nasr period)
Proto-cuneiform, c. 3000 BCE
Unicode: ? ๐ฉ ?
Transliteration: ?.SAL.?
Translation: ? "woman" ?
Note: I haven't identified the other two archaic signs yet
Seal of Naram-Sin (Akkadian King)
Akkadian cuneiform, c. 2250 BCE
Unicode: ๐ญ๐พ๐๐ ๐ญ๐๐ช
Transliteration: D.na-ra-am.D.EN-ZU
Translation: "Naram-Sin" (name)
Amarna Letter EA 161
Akkadian cuneiform, c. 1350 BCE
Unicode: ๐๐ฃ๐
Transliteration: a-zi-ru
Translation: "Aziru" (name)
Rassam cylinder
Assyrian cuneiform, 643 BCE
Unicode: ๐ญ๐น๐
Transliteration: an-ลกarโ.KI
Translation: "Assyria" (place name)
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
Stone vase of Seth-Peribsen
Egyptian hieroglyphs, c 2800 BCE
Unicode: ๐ฉ ๐ด๐๐ฃ๐
Transliteration: SET pr-jb.sn
Translation: "Seth-Peribsen" (name)
Ebers Papyrus
Hieratic script, c. 1500 BCE
Unicode: ๐ป๐๐ป๐๐๐ญ ๐ง๐ง๐๐?๐??
Transliteration: jw-s-jw-r-fy-dd-nn?-๊ฅ?
Translation: ??
Note: I can't read hieratic and haven't found a detailed translation of Ebers
Cartouche of Cleopatra
Egyptian hieroglyphs, c. 30 BCE
Unicode: ๐๐ญ๐๐ฏ๐ช๐ฟ๐ง๐๐ฟ๐๐
Transliteration: qljw๊ฃp๊ฃdr๊ฃ-FEM / kliwapatra-FEM
Translation: "Cleopatra" (name)
Semitic Abjads
Wadi el-Hol inscription
Proto-Sinaitic script, c. 1800 BCE
Unicode: ๐ค๐ค๐ค ๐ค ๐ค or ๐๐จ๐ด ๐ถ ๐
Transliteration: mลกt r h
Translation: "Excellent b(anquet) (of the) c(elebration)?"
Ahiram sarcophagus
Phoenician script, c. 850 BCE
Unicode: ๐ค๐ค๐ค ๐ค๐ค๐ค
Transliteration: mlk gbl
Translation: "King of Gebal (Byblos)"
Sabaean votive stele (Panel Almaqah Louvre DAO18)
Ancient South Arabian script, c. 500 BCE
Unicode: ๐ฉฒ๐ฉฃ๐ฉฑ๐ฉฃ๐ฉง
Transliteration: สmสmr
Translation: "Ammรฎ'amar" (name)
Palmyrene Grand Colonnade dedication
Palmyrene Aramaic script, c. 250 CE
Unicode: ๐กฒ๐กซ๐กฌ๐กถ
Transliteration: แนฃlmt
Translation: "statue, image"
Aleppo Codex
Aramaic Square script (Hebrew script), c. 920 CE
Unicode: ืึทืึฐืึดื
Transliteration: vayhรญ
Translation: "it happened that, now"
Ottoman Thuluth Basmala
Thuluth script (Arabic script), c. 920 CE
Unicode: ุจูุณูู
ู ูฑูููููฐูู ูฑูุฑููุญูู
ููฐูู ูฑูุฑููุญููู
ู
Transliteration: bi-smi llฤhi r-raแธฅmฤni r-raแธฅฤซm
Translation: "In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"
Greco-Roman Alphabets
Pithekoussai Nestor Cup
Western Archaic Greek script, c. 710 BCE
Unicode: ฮฮฮฃฮคฮฮกฮฮฃ
Transliteration: Nestoros
Translation: "Nestor" (name)
Duenos inscription
Old Italic script, c. 600 BCE
Unicode: ๐๐๐๐๐๐
Transliteration: Duenos
Translation: "good"
Vimose comb
Germanic runes, c. 160 BCE
Unicode: แบแจแฑแแจ
Transliteration: harja
Translation: "Army" or "Warrior" (possibly a name)
Codex Sinaiticus
Byzantine uncial (Greek alphabet), c. 350 CE
Unicode: ฮฮฮฮฯน
Transliteration: logos
Translation: "word, speech, reason"
Book of Durrow
Insular script (Latin alphabet), c. 700 CE
Unicode: scriptum
Transliteration: scriptum
Translation: "text, writing"
engraved type of Nicholas Jenson
Humanist typeface (Latin alphabet), 1472 CE
Unicode: legibus
Transliteration: legibus
Translation: "laws"
Gustav Vasa Bible
Fraktur blackletter (Latin alphabet), 1541 CE
Unicode: Biblia
Transliteration: Biblia
Translation: "bible, books"
Brahmic Abugidas
Pillars of Ashoka
Ashokan Brahmi script, c. 230 CE
Unicode: ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฃ๐ช๐
Transliteration: Silฤ Thabhe
Translation: "stone pillars"
Bhitari Pillar inscription
Gupta Brahmi script, c. 460 CE
Unicode: ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ค๐๐ผ๐ง๐๐ข
Transliteration: Skandagupta
Translation: "Skanda Gupta" (name)
Tang Dynasty Pratisara mantra
Siddham, 927 CE
Unicode: ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐๐จ
Transliteration: mantra
Translation: "mantra, prayer"
High Court of Kerala marqee
Malayalam script, c. 2000 CE
Unicode: เดเตเดฐเดณ
Transliteration: kฤraแธทa
Translation: "Kerala" (place name)
Chinese Characters
Shang oracle bone fragment
Oracle bone script, c. 1100 CE
Unicode: ๅญๅฅณ
Transliteration: Old Chinese *สslษฏส naส (Pinyin: zวnว)
Translation: "children"
Qin engraved iron weight standard
Small Seal script, c. 221 BCE
Unicode: ็ๅธ
Transliteration: Old Chinese *ษกสทaหล teหษกs (Pinyin: huรกngdรฌ)
Translation: "Emperor"
Letter by Cai Xiang
Chinese characters, c. 1050 CE
Unicode: ๆธ
Transliteration: Middle Chinese ษษจส (Pinyin: shลซ)
Translation: "letter"
Book of Odes calligraphed by Qianlong Emperor
Chinese characters, c. 1750 CE
Unicode: ้้
Transliteration: guฤn jลซ
Translation: Guan ju (poem title); "guan (cries the) osprey"
Mesoamerican Scripts
La Mojarra Inscription
Isthmian script (Olmec), 156 CE
Unicode: โ
Transliteration: ?
Translation: ?
Madrid Codex
Maya script, c. 1300 CE
Unicode: โ
Transliteration:
Translation:
