Language > Linear-B

Linear-B

Linear B is an ancient script used primarily for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of the Greek language. It was employed by the Mycenaean civilization from around 1450 to 1200 BCE, mainly on the Greek mainland and Crete.

Key Features of Linear B:

1. Origin and Development:

   • Linear B evolved from the earlier Linear A script used by the Minoans. The Mycenaeans adapted Linear A to suit their language, Mycenaean Greek.
   • The script was used predominantly in administrative contexts, with most surviving examples found on clay tablets and pottery shards.

2. Script Characteristics:

   • Linear B is a syllabic script, consisting of about 90 syllabic signs that represent syllables and around 100 ideographic signs representing objects, commodities, and abstract concepts.
   • Unlike alphabets, each sign in Linear B typically represents a combination of a consonant and a vowel or just a vowel.

3. Usage:

   • The primary use of Linear B was for record-keeping in palatial centers such as Knossos, Pylos, Mycenae, and Thebes.
   • The tablets often recorded economic transactions, inventories, and administrative details, providing a glimpse into the bureaucratic workings of Mycenaean society.

4. Decipherment:

   • Linear B was deciphered in 1952 by Michael Ventris, an architect and amateur linguist, with significant contributions from John Chadwick, a classical scholar.
   • Ventris and Chadwick demonstrated that Linear B recorded an early form of Greek, overturning the previous assumption that the script encoded a language unrelated to Greek.

5. Significance:

   • The decipherment of Linear B has been crucial in understanding the Mycenaean civilization, including their political structure, economy, and religious practices.
   • Linear B tablets provide the earliest written records of the Greek language, linking the Mycenaeans directly to later Greek culture and history.

6. Archaeological Findings:

   • Thousands of Linear B tablets have been discovered, primarily in the ruins of Mycenaean palaces. Key sites include Pylos, Knossos, and Thebes.
   • These tablets were typically baked by the fires that destroyed the palaces, which inadvertently preserved them for modern archaeologists.

7. Content of the Tablets:

   • The tablets mainly include lists of goods, inventories of resources, records of workers and their duties, and religious offerings.
   • They reveal a highly organized society with complex administrative systems, extensive trade networks, and a stratified social hierarchy.

In summary, Linear B is a critical source of information about the Mycenaean civilization and provides a direct link between the Bronze Age Aegean world and classical Greece. Its decipherment has illuminated many aspects of early Greek history and culture, contributing significantly to our understanding of ancient Mediterranean societies.

Sources

Greek Language