Linear A

Linear A consists of over 300 signs including regional variants and ones which occur only once. Among these, a core group of 90 occur with some frequency throughout the script's geographic and chronological extent.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Linear A |encyclopedia=Oxford Classical Dictionary |year=2022 |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |editor-last1=Hornblower |editor-first1=Simon|editor-last2=Spawforth |editor-first2=Antony|editor-last3=Eidinow|editor-first3=Esther |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8927 |doi-broken-date=11 April 2025 |isbn=978-0-19-938113-5 |url=https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-8927 |url-access=subscription}}{{cite encyclopedia|last=Tomas|first=Helena|year=2012|title=Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A|editor-last=Cline|editor-first=Eric|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of the Bronze Age Aegean |pages=113–125 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199873609.013.0026|isbn=978-0199873609}}

{{Image frame|width=130|content=File:LINEAR_A_SIGN_A559.svg
File:LINEAR_A_SIGN_AB080.svgFile:LINEAR_A_SIGN_AB026.svg

|caption=The complex sign in the top row is formed out of the two on the bottom row.{{cite web | title=HT 12 - A559 Logogram | website=SigLA | url=https://sigla.phis.me/document/HT%2012/index-12.html }}}}

As a logosyllabic writing system, Linear A includes signs which stand for syllables as well as others standing for words or concepts. Linear A's signs could be combined via ligature to form complex signs. Complex signs usually behave as ideograms and most are hapax legomena, occurring only once in the surviving corpus. Thus, Linear A signs are divided into four categories:

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

Linear A was usually written left-to-right, but a handful of documents were written right-to-left or boustrophedon.

Furthermore, the following ‘supplementary’ syllabograms for more complex syllables can be identified (where in some cases the exact pronunciation is or used to be unknown even for Linear B, hence the use of subscript numbers):

The following list contains some frequent ideograms/logograms whose meaning is known and uncontroversial and almost all of which are preserved in Linear B.Younger, John. Linear A. 11. Ideograms/Logograms. [https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/ Archived from the original][https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10600.pdf Linear A. Range: 10600–1077F. The Unicode Standard, Version 15.1] The meaning of many others is debated. Note that some of the ideograms are also used as syllabograms; in such cases, the sound value is indicated in the table before the Bennett number.

{{main|Aegean numerals}}

These numerals 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;{{harvnb|Packard|1974|pages=23–24}} these sign combinations are known as klasmatograms.{{cite journal |last1=Proust |first1=Christine |title=Numerical and Metrological Graphemes: From Cuneiform to Transliteration |journal=Cuneiform Digital Library Journal |date=June 22, 2009 |url=https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlj/2009-1 |access-date=January 23, 2024}}

Integers can be read and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are quite straightforward, similarly to Roman numerals.{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=W. French |title=Arithmetical Procedure in Minoan Linear A and in Minoan-Greek Linear B |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=1 July 1958 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=363–368 |doi=10.2307/501989 |jstor=501989 |s2cid=193020404 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/501989 |access-date= |language=en |issn=0002-9114|url-access=subscription }}

There is a lack of scholarly agreement about signs, generally called klasmatograms, for Linear A fractions.{{cite journal |last1=Billigmeier |first1=Jon C. |title=Linear A Fractions: A New Approach |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=1 October 1973 |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=61–65 |doi=10.2307/503234 |jstor=503234 |s2cid=191382050 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/503234 |access-date= |language=en |issn=0002-9114|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=Emmett L. |title=Linear A fractional retractation |journal=Kadmos |date=1 January 1980 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=12–23 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-1980-0104 |s2cid=163961065 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-1980-0104/html |access-date= |language=| issn=0022-7498|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Schrijver |first1=Peter |title=Fractions and food rations in Linear A |journal=Kadmos |date=1 July 2014 |volume=53 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–44 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2014-0001 |s2cid=164932371 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2014-0001/html |access-date= |language= | issn=0022-7498 |url-access=subscription }}Giulio Facchetti, "Linear A metrograms", Kadmos, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 142–148, 1994 In 2021 Corazza et al. proposed the following values, most of which had been previously suggested:{{cite journal |last1=Corazza |first1=Michele |last2=Ferrara |first2=Silvia |last3=Montecchi |first3=Barbara |last4=Tamburini |first4=Fabio |last5=Valério |first5=Miguel |title=The mathematical values of fraction signs in the Linear A script: A computational, statistical and typological approach |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |date=2021 |volume=125 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2020.105214|s2cid=225229514 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021JArSc.125j5214C |hdl=11585/789546 |hdl-access=free }}

Other fractions are composed by addition: the common JE and DD are {{frac|3|4}} and {{frac|1|3}} ({{frac|2|6}}), BB = {{frac|2|5}}, EF = {{frac|3|8}}, etc. (and indeed B {{frac|1|5}} looks like it might derive from KK {{frac|2|10}}). L, Y, and Ω are hapax legomena (only occur once) and it has been proposed that glyph L 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 DD and (presumably AA) are {{frac|1|3}} and {{frac|1|12}} of a lana, while K is {{frac|1|10}} of the main unit for dry weight.

Image:Linear A tablets filt.jpg, Santorini]]

File:0726 La Canée musée linéaire A.JPG]]

Linear A has been found chiefly on Crete, but also at other sites in Greece, as well as Turkey and Israel. The extant corpus, comprising some 1,427 specimens totals 7,362 to 7,396 signs. Linear A has been written on various media, such as stone offering tables and vessels, gold and silver hairpins, roundels, and ceramics.{{cite journal |last1=Winterstein |first1=Gregoire |last2=Cacciafoco |first2=Francesco Perono |last3=Petrolito |first3=Ruggero |last4=Petrolito |first4=Tommaso |title=Minoan linguistic resources: The Linear A digital corpus |url=https://www.academia.edu/14641910 |journal=Proceedings of the 9th SIGHUM Workshop on Language Technology for Cultural Heritage, Social Sciences, and Humanities (LaTeCH) |year=2015 |via=Academia.edu}}Brent Davis, Minoan Stone Vessels with Linear A Inscriptions. AEGAEUM, 36. Leuven; Liège: Peeters, 2014. xxiv, 421. {{ISBN|9789042930971}} 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.Hutchinson R.W., "Prehistoric Crete", London, 1962Pugliese Carratelli G, "Nouve epigrafi minoiche da Festo", Annuario della Scuola Archaeologica di Atene 35-36[n.s. 19-20(1957-1958)], pp. 363-388, 1958 Linear A inscriptions have been found throughout the island of Crete and also on some Aegean islands (Kythera, Kea, Thera, Melos, Samothrace), in mainland Greece (Ayos Stephanos), on the west coast of Asia Minor (Miletus, Troy), and in the Levant (Tel Haror, Tel Lachish).{{cite book |last=Woudhuizen |first=Fred C. |title=Documents in Minoan Luwian, Semitic, and Pelasgian |publisher=Nederlands Archeologisch Historisch Genootschap |location=Amsterdam |year=2016 |oclc=1027956786 |isbn=9789072067197}}{{cite report |type=slides |last1=Cacciafoco |first1=Francesco Perono |title=Linear A and Minoan. The riddle of unknown origins |journal=Linear a and Minoan. The Riddle of Unknown Origins |date=January 2014 |url=https://www.academia.edu/8107092 |access-date=13 July 2020 |via=Academia.edu}}[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369818082_Citation_Symbols_of_Minoan_Hieroglyphic_Script_and_Linear_A_in_Melos_from_the_Middle_of_3rd_Millennium_BC] 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[https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=8993dee3c85994b51a3ba3acf0f111e9564d74eb] Woudhuizen, Fred C., "Minoan and Mycenaean Oversea‟ s Contacts: The Epigraphic Evidence", ÉTUDES 53, pp. 5–11, 2009

The first comprehensive compendium of Linear A inscriptions (sometimes referred to as GORILA) was produced by Louis Godart and Jean-Pierre Olivier in multiple columns between 1976 and 1985.Godart, L. and Olivier, J.-P., "Recueil des inscriptions en lineaire A, vol. 1: Tablettes editees avant 1970", Paris, 1976Godart, L. and Olivier, J.-P., "Recueil des inscriptions en lineaire A, vol. 2: Nodules, scelles et rondelles edites avant 1970", Paris, 1979Godart, L. and Olivier, J.-P., "Recueil des inscriptions en lineaire A, vol. 3: Tablettes, nodules et rondelles edites en 1975 et 1976", Paris, 1976Godart, L. and Olivier, J.-P., "Recueil des inscriptions en lineaire A, vol. 4: Autres documents", Paris, 1982Godart, L. and Olivier, J.-P., "Recueil des inscriptions en lineaire A, vol. 5: Addenda, corrigenda, concordances, index et planches des signes", Paris, 1985 In 2011 work began on a supplement to that compendium.[https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_2011_num_135_1_7827] Del Freo M. and Zurbach J., "La préparation d’un supplément au Recueil des inscriptions en linéaire A. Observations à partir d’un travail en cours", BCH 135.1, pp. 73–97, 2011 In 2020 a project was begun, called SigLA, to put all the known Linear A inscriptions online at a single site.[https://sigla.phis.me/paper.pdf] Ester Salgarella and Simon Castellan, "SigLA The Signs of Linear A: a palæographical database", August 20, 2020

File:Sitia Museum Linear A 02.jpg, Archeological Museum of Sitia]]

Almost all Linear A tablets, most in a fragmentary condition, have been found on the island of Crete, dated to the Neopalatial Period. At that time Crete was divided by mountains and other geographic features into a number of polities, each with its own urban center.E Kyriakidis, "Undeciphered tablets and undeciphered territories: A comparison of late minoan IB archives", Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, no. 49, pp. 118–29, 2003, These tablets have been found at Hagia Triada (147 tablets), Petras, Phaistos (26 tablets), Knossos (6 tablets), Petsophas, Archanes (7 tablets), Myrtos Pyrgos (2 tablets), Zakros (31 tablets), Tylissos (2 tablets), Malia (6 tablets), Gournia (1 tablet), and Khania (99 tablets).Gallimore, S., and K.T. Glowacki. “Stratigraphic Excavations within the Gournia Palace 2011-2014.” [Abstract]. Archaeological Institute of America 119th Annual Meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America Volume 41 (2017), 345. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America{{Cite journal |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |date=2019-04-01 |title=Drawing lines: The palaeography of Linear A and Linear B |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2019-0004/html |journal=Kadmos |language=en |volume=58 |issue=1–2 |pages=61–92 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2019-0004 |issn=1613-0723|url-access=subscription }}{{cite journal |last1=Hallager |first1=Erik |last2=Andreadaki-Vlazaki |first2=Maria |title=Some unpublished Linear A documents from Khania |journal=Kadmos |date=1 July 2018 |volume=57 |issue=1–2 |pages=33–44 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2018-0004 |s2cid=204963634 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2018-0004/html |access-date= |language= | issn=0022-7498|url-access=subscription }}{{sfn|Schoep|1999|pp=201–221}}Anna Morpurgo-Davies, Gerald Cadogan, "A second Linear A tablet from Pyrgos" Kadmos, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 7–9, 1977 One Linear A tablet was found on Kea in the Cyclades.{{harvnb|Finkelberg|1998|pp=265–272}}. Three tablet fragments were found on the island of Santorini (Thera).Bennett, Simon M. and Owens, Gareth A., "The Dating of the Linear A Inscriptions from Thera", Kadmos, vol. 38, no. 1–2, pp. 12–18, 1999 The handful of known Cretan Hieroglyphs tablets (with relatively few signs) were also found on Crete at Malia and Kato Symi.A. Lembessi, P. Muhly, and J.-P. Olivier, "An Inscription in the Hieroglyphic Script from the Syme Sanctuary, Crete (Sy Hf 01)" Kadmos, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 63–77, 1995

File:Minoan inscriptions, Linear A script, Phaistos, 1850-1450 BC, AMH, 144885.jpg

Seals and clay sealings served the same role of inventory control and ownership as in the ancient Near East and Egypt. Large numbers of sealings have been found, primarily on Crete and in the Late Minoan IB period. The primary sources of sealed documents come from Haghia Triada (1103), Zakros (560), Khania (210), Knossos (125), Phaistos (35), Malia (6), and Tylissos (5).{{cite journal |last=Schoep |first=Ilse |title=Tablets and Territories? Reconstructing Late Minoan IB Political Geography through Undeciphered Documents |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=103 |number=2 |pages=201–221 |year=1999 |jstor=506745 |doi=10.2307/506745|s2cid=155632843 | issn=0002-9114 }}Weingarten, Judith, "Seal-use at LM IΒ Ayia Triada: a Minoan elite in action I. Administrative considerations", Kadmos 26.1, pp. 1–43, 1987Massimo Perna, "The Roundels of Haghia Triada", Kadmos, 33, pp. 93–141 1994 It is not clear what was commonly used to impress the sealing as only a few Linear A inscribed "seal stones" have been found. In other regions cylinder seals and stamp seals fulfilled this role.{{cite journal |last1=Civitillo |first1=Matilde |title=Comparing Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A seal stones: a preliminary assessment of forms, materials, sequences, uses |journal=Ariadne Supplement Series |date=2023 |url=https://iris.unicampania.it/handle/11591/490030 |access-date= |issn=2623-4726}}

Sealed documents are divided by archaeologists into four classes:

• Roundels – disks of clay with sealing on the edgesErik Hallager, The Minoan Roundel and Other Sealed Documents in the Neopalatial Linear A Administration, Peeters Publishers, 31 Dec 1996 {{ISBN|9789042924130}}
• Hanging nodules – sealed lumps of clay originally attached to string[https://tidsskrift.dk/MoDIA/article/download/127043/173380] Tsipopoulou, Metaxia, and Erik Hallager, "The nodules and their types-definitions and discussions", Monographs of the Danish Institute at Athens (MoDIA) 9, pp. 182–194, 2010
• Parcel nodules – lumps of clay with sealing on back
• Noduli – clay lumps like hanging nodules but not formerly string attached

A group of Minoan finds, usually from sanctuaries, have traditionally been called libation tables. They come in full sized and miniature versions, usually of stone. Because of the findspots, at cultic sites like Mount Juktas, they are usually assumed to be religious in nature though that is not certain.Metaxa-Muhly, Polymnia, "Linear A inscriptions from the Sanctuary of Hermes and Aphrodite at Kato Syme", Kadmos, vol. 23, no. 1–2, pp. 124–135, 1984 So far about 1000 libation tables have been recovered at 27 different sites on Crete, of which 41 have Linear A inscriptions.Monti, Orazio, "Some observations on the language of Linear A", Kadmos, vol. 61, no. 1–2, pp. 107–116, 2022Driessen, Jan, "A fragmentary linear a inscription from petsophas, palaikastro (pk za 20)", Kadmos, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 149–152, 1994C. Davaras and W. C. Brice, "A Fragment of a Libation Table Inscribed in Linear A from Vrysinas", Kadmos, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 5–6, 1977 These inscriptions follow a standardized "libation formula", a formula also found on a few other objects, primarily vessels.Platon, Nikolas, "Inscribed libation vessel from a Minoan house at Prassa, Heraklion", Minoica: Festschrift zum 80. Geburtstag von Johannes Sundwall, edited by Ernst Grumach, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 305–318, 1958Davaras, Costis, "Three New Linear A Libation Vessel Fragments from Petsophas", Kadmos, vol. 20, no. 1–2, 1981, pp. 1–6, 1981Stylianos Alexiou, W. Brice, "A Silver Pin from Platanos with an inscription in Linear A: Her. Mus. 498". Kadmos, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 18–27, 1976Leinwand, Nancy Westneat, "A Ladle from Shaft Grave III at Mycenae", American Journal of Archaeology, vol. 84, no. 4, pp. 519–21, 1980

The "libation formula" has been much studied.W. C. Brice, "The Minoan “Libation Formula”", Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, 48.1 (1965){{cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Rose |title=Some reflections on morphology in the language of the Linear A libation formula |journal=Kadmos |date=1 December 2020 |volume=59 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–23 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2020-0001 |s2cid=235451899 |url=https://www.finnishsyntax.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2022/01/Reflections_on_Morphology_in_the_Language_of_the_Linear_A_Libation_Formula.pdf |access-date= | issn=0022-7498 }} A similar construct in Cretan Hieroglyphs, the "Archanes Formula", is the main proposed link to Linear A.{{cite journal |last1=Ferrara |first1=Silvia |last2=Montecchi |first2=Barbara |last3=Valério |first3=Miguel |title=What is the 'Archanes Formula'? Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Earliest Attestation of Writing in the Aegean |journal=Annual of the British School at Athens |date=December 2021 |volume=116 |pages=43–62 |doi=10.1017/S0068245420000155 |hdl=11585/833390 |s2cid=236307210 |url=https://flore.unifi.it/handle/2158/1265257 |access-date= |language=en |issn=0068-2454|hdl-access=free }}

File:Prähistorisches Museum Thira Linearschrift A 06.jpg

While most of the recovered Linear A signs have come from tablets, libation tables and related ritual objects, and sealed documents, a number of very short Linear A inscriptions have been found in the Minoan area of operation, primarily in the form of potmarks and mason's marks.Militello P.M., "Management, power and non-literate communication in Prepalatial and Palatial Messara", in A. M. Jasink – J. Weingarten – S. Ferrara (a cura di), Non-scribal Communication Media in the Bronze Age Aegean and Surrounding Areas. The semantics of a-literate and proto-literate media, Firenze, pp. 55–72, 2017 A problem is that it can be difficult to tell if a single-sign (or even doubleton) is Linear A, Linear B, or Cretan Hieroglyphs because of the overlap in sign use.[https://amsdottorato.unibo.it/11010/1/Santamaria_Andrea_Tesi.pdf] Santamaria, Andrea, "From images to signs: Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A in context." (2023, Dissertation, Università di Bologna, 2023Owens, Gareth A., "The Common Origin of Cretan Hieroglyphs and Linear A", Kadmos, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 105–110, 1996 Vessel sherds were found at Traostalos, bearing three signs in total.Davaras, Costis, "Three sherds inscribed in Linear A, from Traostalos", Kadmos, vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 167–168, 1974 Four vase sherds were found at Thera with signs, as well as a ostrakon with one sign. A vessel fragment was found at Miletus.Niemeier, Wolf-Dietrich, "A Linear A Inscription from Miletus (MIL Zb 1)", Kadmos, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 87–99, 1996 Two pithoi with very fragmentary inscriptions were found at Pseira.Floyd, Cheryl R., "Fragments from two pithoi with Linear A inscriptions from Pseira", Kadmos, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 39–48, 1995 Graffiti has been found at places like Hagia Triada.Cameron, Mark A. S., "Four Fragments of Wall Paintings with Linear A Inscriptions", Kadmos, vol. 4, no. 1, 1965, pp. 7–15 A small clay ball with three Linear A signs was found at Mikro Vouni on the island of Samothrace.D. Matsas, "Samothrace and the Northeastern Aegean: The Minoan Connection", Studia Troica 1, pp. 159–179, 1991 A small stone tab with two signs was excavated in Hagios Stephanos, Laconia.R. Janko, "The Linear A Inscription", in Ayios Stephanos: Excavations at a Bronze Age and Medieval Settlement in Southern Laconia, The British School at Athens. Supplementary Volumes, no. 44, pp. 441–443, 2008 A silver hair pin and a gold ring, both with fairly long Linear A inscriptions, were found at Mavro Spelio in Knossos.Alexiou Stylianos and Brice William C., "A Silver Pin from Mavro Spelio with an Inscription in Linear A: Her. Mus. 540", Kadmos, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 113–124, 1972{{cite journal |last=Pullen |first=Daniel J. |title=[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 |url=http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2009/2009.09.08/|journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review |year=2009}}

A Linear A inscription was said to have been found in southeast Bulgaria.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 Another, somewhat more solid, find was at Tel Lachish.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 A Minoan graffito found at Tel Haror on a vessel fragment is either Linear A or Cretan hieroglyphs.Olivier, Jean-Pierre. "A Minoan graffito from Tel Haror (Negev, Israel)." Cretan studies 5 (1996): 98–109

Several tablets inscribed in signs similar to Linear A were found at Troy 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.{{Cite book |last1=Schliemann |first1=Heinrich |url=http://archive.org/details/troyitsremainsna00schl |title=Troy and its remains; a narrative of researches and discoveries made on the site of Ilium, and in the Trojan plain |last2=Smith |first2=Philip |last3=Schmitz |first3=L. Dora |date=1875 |publisher=London, J. Murray |others=Princeton Theological Seminary Library |pages=23–24 |language=en}}{{Cite encyclopedia |year=1984 |url=http://www.kladina.narod.ru/kazanskiy/kazanskiy.htm |last=Kazansky |first=NN. |editor-last=Bernstein |editor-first=S.B. |language=ru |script-title=ru:Троянское письмо: к постановке вопроса |editor2-last=Gindin |editor2-first=L.A. |editor3-last=Golubtsova |editor3-first=E.S. |editor4-last=I.A. |editor5-last=Orel |editor5-first=V.E.)}} Two Linear A inscribed clay spindle whorls were also found at Troy.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

{{see also|Minoan chronology}}

The earliest attestation of Linear A begins around 1800 BC (Middle Minoan IB) during the Protopalatial period. It became prominent around 1625 BC (Middle Minoan IIIB) and went out of use around 1450 BC (Late Minoan I) during the Neopalatial period. It was contemporary with and possibly derived from Cretan hieroglyphs, and may be an ancestor of Linear B. The Cypro-Minoan syllabary, used between Cyprus and its trading partners around the Mediterranean, was also in use during this period.Valério, Miguel, "Linear A du and Cypriot su: a Case of Diachronic Acrophony?", Kadmos, vol. 47, no. 1–2, pp. 57–66, 2009 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:{{harvnb|Olivier|1986|pp=377f.}}

File:Minoan inscriptions, Linear A script, Phaistos, 1850-1450 BC, AMH, 144886.jpg

Linear A has not been fully deciphered. However, researchers are reasonably confident in the approximate sound values of most syllabic signs and are able to make inferences about the meanings of some texts.{{cite magazine |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |date=17 June 2022 |title=Cracking the Cretan code |url=https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |magazine=Aeon|access-date=30 March 2024|quote=Linear A is, after all, ‘partially deciphered’, inasmuch as we can read the texts in phonetic transcription with some approximation, understand some of the words... and get a general idea of the documents’ contents.}}

One major barrier to its decipherment is the limited surviving corpus. Only around 1400 Linear A inscriptions survive, in contrast to the 6000 available for Linear B. As a result, researchers are stuck with limited sample sizes, making it difficult to reliably detect patterns.{{cite magazine |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |date=17 June 2022 |title=Cracking the Cretan code |url=https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |magazine=Aeon|access-date=7 March 2024}} Similarly, Linear A inscriptions are often fragmentary, damaged, or otherwise hard to read. It can be difficult to individuate particular signs and to distinguish separate signs from handwriting variants. Finally, Linear A inscriptions tend to be brief and repetitive. Rather than complete sentences, many are lists where each entry consists of a toponym or personal name followed by a logogram and then a numeral. Thus, the surviving corpus contains few spelled-out words and limited evidence of the grammatical structure.

A second barrier is the scarcity of external evidence. No bilingual inscriptions have been found, preventing the script from being deciphered in the manner that Egyptian hieroglyphs were deciphered using the Rosetta Stone. The underlying language of Linear A has not been determined, and it is not clear that the same language was used for its entire period of use. The grammatical evidence that can be gleaned from the surviving corpus suggests that it was not a close relative of any known language.

For most of Linear A's syllabic signs, approximate sound values can be inferred based on the values of homomorphic signs in Linear B. These sound values are widely accepted by current researchers, though they are not considered incontrovertible and many details remain up for debate. This does not amount to a complete decipherment since it results in words that are uninterpretable.[https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/7e3a97dd-5ae9-46e3-bab5-fdd644e45bec/content] Meissner, T., & Steele, P., "Linear A and Linear B: Structural and contextual concerns", Edizioni Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 2017

These values are based on the homomorphy-homophony principle which states that in related writing systems, signs with similar forms will generally have similar phonetic values. Although this principle is not reliable across the board, there are a number of strong reasons why scholars have concluded that it does generally hold in Linear A.{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=6–7|isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}} One reason is that is already known to hold in many cases between Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, another script which descends from Linear A. This fact suggests that these signs were inherited by both scripts along with their Linear A phonetic values.{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}} A second reason is that the resulting Linear A sound values provide readings of words which match what contextual analysis would lead us to expect. For instance, words which contextual analysis suggests to be placenames are read as such when assuming Linear B values. Notably, the Linear A word {{lang|omn|𐘂𐘚𐘄}} would be read as {{lang|omn-Latn|Pa-i-to}}, corresponding to the placename Phaistos attested in the Linear B corpus as {{lang|gmy|𐀞𐀂𐀵}} {{transliteration|gmy|Pa-i-to}}.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{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear A texts in phonetic transcription |title=10c. Place names |year=2000 |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |publisher=University of Kansas |access-date=29 April 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |url-status=dead }}{{cite book |last=Finkelberg |first=Margalit |date=2001 |chapter=The Language of Linear A: Greek, Semitic, or Anatolian? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/24273902 |editor-last=Drews |editor-first=Robert |title=Greater Anatolia and the Indo-Hittite Language Family |series=Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series |volume=38 |pages=81–105 |isbn=978-0941694773 |via=Academia.edu}}

However, in particular cases scholars have identified reasons to expect divergence in pronunciation. Some scholars have argued that Minoan did not really have a vowel phoneme /o/, that it may not have had the labialised velars that the q-signs express in Mycenaean, and that the only apparent voiced stop, d, was really a dental fricative in Minoan.

The following table shows signs that are known to be syllabograms and for which provisional and approximate sound values are assumed primarily based on the known pronunciations of identical or similar signs in Linear B.[http://projectos.fcsh.unl.pt/kubaba/Davis_2010__Introduction_to_Aegean_pre-Alphabetic_Scripts.pdf Davis, Brent. 2010. Introduction to Aegean pre-Alphabetic Scripts. Kubaba 1, pp. 38–61.]. P. 51–54.[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357080939_Some_Remarks_on_Grammatological_and_Morphological_Aspects_of_Linear_A_Documents_An_Internal_Analysis_Approach Fang, X.M., Perono Cacciafoco, F., and Cavallaro, F.P. (2021). Some Remarks on Grammatological and Morphological Aspects of Linear A Documents: An Internal Analysis Approach. Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics, 43(1), pp. 316-338.] P.319.[https://www.bruna.nl/images/active/InkijkPDF/cb/9789402157574.pdf van Soesbergen, Peter George. 2016. Minoan Linear A – volume I. Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Part 1: text.] P.3-10.

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;{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear A texts in phonetic transcription |title=7b. The Script |year=2000 |publisher=University of Kansas |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |url-status=dead }}{{harvnb|Packard|1974|loc=Chapter 1: Introduction}}. the difference in sound values between Linear A and Linear B signs ranges from 9% to 13%.{{sfn|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%)}}

Image:Linear A vase filt.jpg

Linear A does not appear to encode any known language. The placeholder term Minoan language is often used, though it is not certain that the texts are all in the same language.Chadwick J., "Introduction to the problems of ‘Minoan Linear A’", JRAS 2, pp. 143–147, 1975 Minoan appears to be agglutinative, making copious use of prefixes and suffixes. It likely had a three vowel system, since it shares Linear B's /{{IPA|i}}/, /{{IPA|u}}/, and /{{IPA|a}}/ series, but not Linear B's /{{IPA|o}}/ series and not all of its /{{IPA|e}}/ series. Based on regularities in the Linear A Libation Formulas, it has been argued that its word order was Verb Subject Object.{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Brent |title=Syntax in Linear A: The Word-Order of the 'Libation Formula' |journal=Kadmos |date=1 December 2013 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=35–52 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2013-0003 |s2cid=163948869 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2013-0003/html |access-date= | issn=0022-7498 |url-access=subscription }}[https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-do-you-crack-the-code-to-a-lost-ancient-script How do you crack the code to a lost ancient script? - Andrew Trounson, University of Melbourne – 5 November 2019]

File:Luwian Hieroglyphs from Karatepe.svg]]

Scholars have noted a number of potential parallels between Minoan and Anatolian languages such as Luwian and Lycian, as well as with Semitic languages such as Phoenician and Ugaritic. However, even if these connections are not coincidental, it is unclear whether Minoan is related to one of these languages or if the parallels arose through language contact.Jan Best, "The First Inscription in Punic. Vowel Differences between Linear A and B, Ugarit-Forschungen 32, pp. 27–35, 2000{{harvnb|Dietrich|Loretz|2001}}.{{cite journal |last=Palmer |first=Leonard Robert |title=Luvian and Linear A |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=75–100 |year=1958 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-968X.1958.tb01273.x | issn=0079-1636}}

{{main|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. Current as of the latest Unicode version, 15.1.[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10422-n3973-lineara.pdf] Michael Everson, "N3973: Revised proposal for encoding the Linear A script in the SMP of the UCS", Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2, 2010-12-28{{Unicode chart Linear A}}

• Aegean numerals
• Cypro-Minoan syllabary
• Phaistos Disc
• Arkalochori Axe

{{Reflist|25em}}

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• [https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script Cracking the Cretan code Ester Salgarella AEON 2022]
• [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200908113231.htm The mathematical values of Linear A fraction signs – Science Daily – September 8, 2020]
• [https://sigla.phis.me/ Interactive database of Linear A inscriptions] [https://sigla.phis.me/paper.html Description]
• [http://lila.sns.it/mnamon/index.php?page=Risorse&id=19&lang=en Mnamon: Antiche Scritture del Mediterraneo (Antique Writings of the Mediterranean)]
• [http://cefael.efa.gr/detail.php?site_id=1&actionID=page&serie_id=EtCret&volume_number=21&issue_number=1 GORILA Volume 1]
• [http://mwenge.github.io/LinearAExplorer Linear A Explorer]

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