Linear B
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2008-07-16T22:17:31Z
Thijs!bot
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robot Adding: [[cs:Lineární písmo B]]
{{dablink|This article is about the ancient [[syllabary]]. See [[linear b (script engine)]] for the [[JavaScript]] engine. There is also a British jazz band called Linear B [[http://www.last.fm/music/linear++b]]}}
{{Infobox WS
|name=Linear B
|type=[[Syllabary]]
|typedesc=with additional [[Logogram]]s
|time=[[Late Bronze Age]]
|status=Extinct
|languages=[[Mycenaean Greek language|Mycenaean Greek]]
|fam1= [[Linear A]]
|sisters=[[Cypro-Minoan syllabary]]
|unicode= [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10000.pdf U+10000–U+1007F] syllabic signs<br />[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10080.pdf U+10080–U+100FF] logograms
|iso15924=Linb
|sample=Linear_B.jpg
|imagesize=265px
}}
{{History of the Greek language|275}}
'''Linear B''' is a script that was used for writing [[Mycenaean language|Mycenaean]], an early form of [[Greek language|Greek]]. It predated the [[Greek alphabet]] by several centuries and seems to have died out with the fall of [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] civilization. Most of the tablets inscribed in Linear B were found in [[Knossos]], [[Kydonia|Cydonia]],<ref>C. Michael Hogan, "Cydonia", ''The Modern Antiquarian'', January 23, 2008 [http://letmespeaktothedriver.com/site/10881/cydonia.html#fieldnotes]</ref> [[Pylos]], [[Thebes]] and [[Mycenae]].<ref>Linnea Holmer Wren, David J. Wren and Janine M. Carter (1994) ''Perspectives on Western Art'', Westview Press ISBN:0064301540</ref> The succeeding period, known as the [[Greek Dark Ages]], provides no evidence of the use of writing.
The script appears to be related to [[Linear A]], an undeciphered earlier script used for writing the [[Eteocretan language|Minoan language]], and the later [[Cypriot syllabary]], which recorded Greek. Linear B consists of around 87 syllabic signs and a large repertory of semantographic signs. These “signifying” signs stand for objects or commodities, but do not have phonetic value and are never used as word signs in writing a sentence.
The application of Linear B was confined to administrative contexts. In all the thousands of tablets, a relatively small number of different "hands" have been detected: 45 in Pylos (west coast of the [[Peloponnese]], in southern [[Greece]]) and 66 in [[Knossos]] ([[Crete]]).<ref>{{cite book|first=J.T.|last=Hooker|title=Linear B: An Introduction|publisher=Bristol Classical Press UK |date=1980|id=ISBN 0906515696}}</ref> From this fact it could be theorized that the script was used only by some sort of guild of professional scribes who served the central palaces. Once the palaces were destroyed, the script disappeared.
==The script==
Linear B has roughly 200 signs, divided into syllabic signs with [[phonetic]] values and [[logogram]]s (or ideograms) with [[semantic]] values. The representations and naming of these signs has been standardized by a series of international colloquia starting with the first in Paris in 1956. After the third meeting in 1961 at the Wingspread conference center in Racine, Wisconsin, a standard proposed primarily by Emmett L. Bennett, Jr., became known as the Wingspread Convention, which was adopted by a new organization, [[CIPEM]], affiliated in 1970 by the fifth colloquium with [[UNESCO]]. Colloquia continue: the 13th is scheduled for 2010 in Paris.<ref>{{cite web|last=Palaima|first=T.G.|coauthors=Josē L. Melena|title=A Brief History of CIPEM| work|publisher=Comitē International Permanent des Ētudes Mycéniennes|url=http://www.linearb.org/pub/home/?doc=157.87|format=html|accessdate=2008-03-28}}</ref>
Many of the signs are identical or similar to [[Linear A]] signs; however, Linear A, which encoded the unknown Minoan language, remains undeciphered and we cannot be sure that similar signs had similar values.
===Syllabic signs===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=11 | Recognised signs of shape V, CV<ref>In [[linguistics]] C and V in this type of context stand for [[consonant]] and [[vowel]].</ref>
|-
!
! colspan=2 |''-a''
! colspan=2 |''-e''
! colspan=2 |''-i''
! colspan=2 |''-o''
! colspan=2 |''-u''
|-
!
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀀
|''a''
''*08''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀁
|''e''
''*38''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀂
|''i''
''*28''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀃
|''o''
''*61''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀄
|''u''
''*10''
|-
!''d-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀅
|''da''
''*01''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀆
|''de''
''*45''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀇
|''di''
''*07''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀈
|''do''
''*14''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀉
|''du''
''*51''
|-
!''j-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀊
|''ja''
''*57''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀋
|''je''
''*46''
|colspan=2 |
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀍
|''jo''
''*36''
| colspan=2 |
|-
!''k-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀏
|''ka''
''*77''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀐
|''ke''
''*44''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀑
|''ki''
''*67''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀒
|''ko''
''*70''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀓
|''ku''
''*81''
|-
!''m-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀔
|''ma''
''*80''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀕
|''me''
''*13''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀖
|''mi''
''*73''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀗
|''mo''
''*15''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀘
|''mu''
''*23''
|-
!''n-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀙
|''na''
''*06''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀚
|''ne''
''*24''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀛
|''ni''
''*30''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀜
|''no''
''*52''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀝
|''nu''
''*55''
|-
!''p-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀞
|''pa''
''*03''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀟
|''pe''
''*72''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀠
|''pi''
''*39''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀡
|''po''
''*11''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀢
|''pu''
''*50''
|-
!''q-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀣
|''qa''
''*16''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀤
|''qe''
''*78''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀥
|''qi''
''*21''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀦
|''qo''
''*32''
|colspan=2|
|-
!''r-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀨
|''ra''
''*60''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀩
|''re''
''*27''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀪
|''ri''
''*53''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀫
|''ro''
''*02''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀬
|''ru''
''*26''
|-
!''s-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀭
|''sa''
''*31''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀮
|''se''
''*09''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀯
|''si''
''*41''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀰
|''so''
''*12''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀱
|''su''
''*58''
|-
!''t-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀲
|''ta''
''*59''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀳
|''te''
''*04''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀴
|''ti''
''*37''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀵
|''to''
''*05''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀶
|''tu''
''*69''
|-
!''w-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀷
|''wa''
''*54''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀸
|''we''
''*75''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀹
|''wi''
''*40''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀺
|''wo''
''*42''
|colspan=2|
|-
!''z-''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀼
|''za''
''*17''
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀽
|''ze''
''*74''
|colspan=2 |
| style="font-size: 200%;" |𐀿
|''zo''
''*20''
|colspan=2 |
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=30| Additional Signs
|-
! Grapheme
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁐
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁑
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁒
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁀
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁆
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁊
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁓
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁁
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁔
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁅
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁕
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁖
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁇
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁗
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁘
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐀎
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁋
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁉
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁃
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁈
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁙
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁚
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁛
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁂
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁜
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁌
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁝
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁄
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁍
|-
!Transcription
| ''*18''
| ''*19''
| ''*22''
| ''a<sub>2</sub>''
| ''pu<sub>2</sub>''
| ''ra<sub>3</sub>''
| ''*34''
| ''a<sub>3</sub>''
| ''*47''
| ''nwa''
| ''*49''
| ''*56''
| ''pte''
| ''*63''
| ''*64''
| ''*65''
| ''ta<sub>2</sub>''
| ''ro<sub>2</sub>''
| ''dwe''
| ''ra<sub>2</sub>''
| ''*79''
| ''*82''
| ''*83''
| ''au''
| ''*86''
| ''twe''
| ''*89''
| ''dwo''
| ''two''
|-
! Numerical value
| ''*18''
| ''*19''
| ''*22''
| ''*25''
| ''*29''
| ''*33''
| ''*34''
| ''*43''
| ''*47''
| ''*48''
| ''*49''
| ''*56''
| ''*62''
| ''*63''
| ''*64''
| ''*65''
| ''*66''
| ''*68''
| ''*71''
| ''*76''
| ''*79''
| ''*82''
| ''*83''
| ''*75''
| ''*86''
| ''*87''
| ''*89''
| ''*90''
| ''*91''
|}
The signs are approximations: each may be used to represent a variety of distinct combinations of sounds. Linear B does not consistently distinguish between [[voiced]] and [[unvoiced]] [[stops]] (except in the [[Dental consonant|dental]] series) and between [[aspirated]] and [[unaspirated]] stops even when these distinctions are [[Phoneme|phonemic]] in Mycenaean Greek, though there are exceptions (there is a separate ''d''-series for voiced dentals, and aspiration can be marked by alternatives such as ''a<sub>2</sub>'').
The ''j''-series represents the semivowel equivalent to English "y", and is used word-initially and as an intervocalic glide after a syllable ending in ι (e.g. ''-a-jo'' for -αῖος; ''a-te-mi-ti-jo'' for Ἀρτεμιτιος).
The ''r''-series includes both the /r/ and /l/ [[phoneme]]s.
The "q"-series is used for the [[labiovelars]] resulting from [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] /kʷ/, /gʷ/, and /gʷʰ/, the latter being devoiced to /kʷʰ/ in [[Proto-Greek]].
Of the additional syllabic signs in the second table:
*Some signs do not follow the simple V/CV typological model, such as ''au'', ''dwo''.
*Some signs alternate with a 'core' sign, such as ''a<sub>3</sub>'' and ''pu<sub>2</sub>''. Their phonetic value may or many not fit the CV model, but the use of a subscript denotes that these are true variants, i.e. the version without the subscript is always an option for the scribe (as opposed to, e.g. ''dwe'', which is not written ''de<sub>2</sub>'', because it alternates with ''du-we'').
In editions of Mycenaean texts, those signs whose value has not been confirmed by [[CIPEM]] are always transcribed as numbers preceded by an asterisk (e.g. ''*64''). CIPEM also allocates the numerical identifiers, and until such allocation, new signs (or obscured or mutilated signs) are transcribed as a bullet-point enclosed in square brackets: <nowiki>[•]</nowiki>.
===Ideograms===
Linear B also uses a number of [[logogram]]s, which are informally referred to as ideograms. These ideograms express:
* The type of object concerned (e.g. a cow, wool, a spear)
* A unit of measure.
They are typically at the end of a line before a number and appear to signify the object to which the number applies. Many of the values remain unknown or disputed.
Some commodities such as cloth and containers are divided into many different categories represented by distinct ideograms. Livestock may be marked with respect to their sex.
The numerical references for the ideograms were originally devised by Ventris and Bennett, divided into functional groups corresponding to the breakdown of Bennett's index. These groups are numbered beginning 100, 110, 120 etc., with some provision of spare numbers for future additions; the official CIPEM numberings used today are based on Ventris and Bennett's numbering, with the provision that three or four letter codes (written in small capitals), based on Latin words that seemed relevant at the time, are used where the meanings are known and agreed. Unicode (as of version 5.0) encodes 123 Linear B ideograms.
The ideograms are symbols, not pictures of the objects in question - e.g. one tablet records a tripod with missing legs, but the ideogram used is of a tripod with three legs. In modern transcriptions of Linear B tablets it is typically convenient to represent an ideogram by its Latin or English name or by an abbreviation of the Latin name. Ventris and Chadwick generally used English; Bennett, Latin. Neither the English nor the Latin can be relied upon as an accurate name of the object; in fact, the identification of some of the more obscure objects is a matter of exegesis.
<div style="height: 250px; overflow: auto; padding: 3px; border:1px solid #AAAAAA; reflist4" >
{|class="wikitable"
|+ Logograms
|-
! Glyph
! Codepoint<ref>Note that the codes do not represent all the [[glyph]]s, only the major ones.</ref>
! Bennett<ref>This table follows the numbering scheme worked out by Ventris and Bennett and presented in Ventris and Chadwick (1973) in the table of Figure 10, pages 50-51. The superscript a refers to Bennett's "Editio a", "a hand from [[Pylos]], of Class III." The superscript b refers to Bennett's "Editio b", "a hand of Knosses." The superscript c refers to Bennett's "Editio c", "a hand of Pylos, of Class I." The non-superscript letters represent the class of tablets, which precedes the individual tablet number; for example, Sa 787 is Tablet Number 787 of the class Sa, which concerns chariots and features the WHEEL ideogram.</ref>
! CIPEM<ref>Figure 10 in Ventris and Chadwick (1973) states only the English names of the logograms where they exist but the Latin is given where it exists in {{cite book|first=Emmett L.|last=Bennett, Jr. Editor|title=Mycenaean Studies: Proceedings of the Third International Colloquium for Mycenaean Studies Held at "Wingspread," 4-8 September 1961|date=1964|city=Madison|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|pages=pages 258-259, "Ideogrammatum Scripturae Mycenaeae Transcriptio"}} The "m" and "f" superscript are male and female.</ref>
! English<ref>Given in capital letters if it repeats Ventris and Chadwick (1973) Figure 10; otherwise, in lowercase. Note that not all the CIPEM glyphs appear in Figure 10.</ref>
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''People and Animals'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂀
| U+10080
| 100<ref>Ventris and Chadwick (1973) page 391: "100 MAN is now used for all forms of the ideogram, so that 101 and 103 are now suppressed."</ref> A-
| '''VIR'''<br>''vir''
| MAN
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂁
| U+10081
| 102 A-
| '''MUL'''<br>''mulier''
| WOMAN
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂂
| U+10082
| 104 Cn
| '''CERV'''<br>''cervus''
| DEER
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂃
| U+10083
| 105 Ca S-
| '''EQU'''<br>''equus''
| HORSE
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂄
| U+10084
| 105 Ca
| '''EQU'''<sup>f</sup>
| mare<ref>Ventris & Chadwick either edition do not follow the Wingspread Convention here but have 105<sup>a</sup> as a HE-ASS and 105<sup>c</sup> as a FOAL.</ref>
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂅
| U+10085
| 105 Ca
| '''EQU'''<sup>m</sup>
| stallion
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐀥
| U+10025
| 106<br>''QI''<br>*21
| '''OVIS'''<br>''ovis''
| SHEEP
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐀥
|
| <br>''WE''<br>*75
| '''we-ka-ta'''<br>''Bous ergatēs''
| "Adjunct to ox" (1973)<ref>The 1956 edition has "Kind of sheep"</ref>
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂆
| U+10086
| 106<sup>b</sup> C- D-
| '''OVIS'''<sup>f</sup>
| EWE
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂇
| U+10087
| 106<sup>a</sup> C- D-
| '''OVIS'''<sup>m</sup>
| RAM
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁒
| U+10052
| 107<br>''RA''<br>*22
| '''CAP'''<br>''capra''
| GOAT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂈
| U+10088
| 107<sup>b</sup> C- Mc
| '''CAP'''<sup>f</sup>
| SHE-GOAT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂉
| U+10089
| 107<sup>a</sup> C-
| '''CAP'''<sup>m</sup>
| HE-GOAT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐁂
| U+10042
| 108<br>''AU''<br>*85 C-
| '''SUS'''<br>''sus''
| PIG
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂊
| U+1008A
| 108<sup>b</sup> C-
| '''SUS'''<sup>f</sup>
| SOW
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂋
| U+1008B
| 108<sup>a</sup> C-
| '''SUS'''<sup>m</sup>
| BOAR
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐀘
| U+10018
| 109<br>''MU''<br>*23 C-
| '''BOS'''<br>''bos''
| OX
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂌
| U+1008C
| 109<sup>b</sup> C-
| '''BOS'''<sup>f</sup>
| COW
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂍
| U+1008D
| 109<sup>a</sup> C-
| '''BOS'''<sup>m</sup>
| OX/BULL
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Units of Measurement'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 110
|'''Z'''<br>''kotylai''
| Volume<br>''Cup''<ref>Chadwick (1976) page 105.</ref>
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 111
|'''V'''<br>''khoinikes''
| Volume
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 112
| '''T'''
| Dry
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 113
| '''S'''
| Liquid
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 114
|
| Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
|*21
|
|Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
|*2
|
|Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 115
| '''P'''
| Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 116
| '''N'''
| Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 117
| '''M'''<br>''dimnaion''<ref>"Double mina", Chadwick (1976) page 102.</ref>
| Weight
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 118
| '''L'''<br>''talanton''
| TALENT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| *72 G-
|
| Bunch?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| *74 S-
|
| Pair
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| *15 S-
|
| Single
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| *61
|
| Deficit
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''By Dry Measure'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂎
| U+1008E
| 120 E- F-
| '''GRA'''<br>''granum''
| WHEAT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂏
| U+1008F
| 121 F-
| '''HORD'''<br>''hordeum''
| BARLEY
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂐
| U+10090
| 122 F- U-
| '''OLIV'''<br>''oliva''
| OLIVES
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂑
| U+1001B
| ''NI''<br>*30 F
| '''FICUS'''
| FIGS
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂑
| U+1000E
| *65
| '''FARINA'''
| FLOUR<br>"some kind of grain"<ref>Ventris & Chadwick (1973) page 392.</ref>
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂑
| U+10091
| 123 G- Un
| '''AROM'''<br>''aroma''
| CONDIMENT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| ''KO''<br>*70 G-
|
| Coriander
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
| U+1002D
| ''SA''<br>*31 G-
|
| Sesame
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| ''KU''<br>*81 G-
|
| Cumin
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| ''SE''<br>*9 G-
|
| Celery
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| ''MA''<br>*80 G-
|
| Fennel
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 124 G-
| '''PYC'''
| cyperus
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂒
| U+10092
| 125 F-
| '''CYP'''
| cyperus?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" |
|
| 126 F-
| '''CYP'''+'''KU'''
| cyperus+''ku''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂓
| U+10093
| 127 Un
| '''KAPO'''
| fruit?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐂔
| U+10094
| 128 G-
| '''KANAKO'''
| safflower
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''By liquid measure'''
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''By weight'''
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''By weight or in units'''
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Counted in units'''
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Vessels'''<ref>Ventris and Chadwick (1973) page 324 has a separate table.</ref>
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100DF
| 200
| <br>''sartago''
| BOILING PAN
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E0
| 201
| '''TRI'''<br>''tripus''
| TRIPOD CAULDRON
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E1
| 202
| <br>''poculum''
| GOBLET?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E2
| 203
| <br>''urceus''
| WINE JAR?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E3
| 204 Ta
| <br>''hirnea''
| EWER
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E4
| 205 K Tn
| <br>''hirnula''
| JUG
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E5
| 206
| '''HYD'''<br>''hydria''
| HYDRIA
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E6
| 207
|
| TRIPOD AMPHORA
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E7
| 208
| '''PAT'''<br>''patera''
| BOWL
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E8
| 209
| '''AMPH'''<br>''amphora''
| AMPHORA
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100E9
| 210
|
| STIRRIP JAR
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100EA
| 211
|
| WATER BOWL?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100EB
| 212
| '''SIT'''<br>''situla''
| WATER JAR?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100EC
| 213
| '''LANX'''<br>''lanx''
| COOKING BOWL
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Furniture'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100C4
| 220 Ta
| <br>''scamnum''
| FOOTSTOOL
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100C5
| 225
| '''ALV'''<br>''alveus''
|
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Weapons'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃆
| U+100C6
| 230 R
| '''HAS'''<br>''hasta''
| SPEAR
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃇
| U+100C7
| 231 R
| '''SAG'''<br>''sagitta''
| ARROW
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃈
| U+100C8
| 232 Ta
| *''232''
| ?
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃉
| U+100C9
| 233 Ra
|
| DAGGER
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃉
| U+100CA
| 234
| '''GLA'''<br>''gladius''
| SWORD
|-
| colspan=5 align=center | '''Chariots'''
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃌
| U+100CC
| 240 Sc
| '''BIG'''<br>''biga''
| WHEELED CHARIOT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃍
| U+100CD
| 241 Sd Se
| '''CUR'''<br>''currus''
| WHEEL-LESS CHARIOT
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃎
| U+100CE
| 242 Sf Sg
| '''CAPS'''<br>''capsus''
| CHARIOT FRAME
|-
| style="font-size: 200%;" | 𐃏
| U+100CF
| 243 Sa So
| '''ROTA'''<br>''rota''
| WHEEL
|-
|}
</div>
==Archives==
===Corpus===
The tablets are classified by the location of their excavation.
*'''KN''' [[Knossos]]: ca. 4360 tablets (not counting finds of Linear A).
*'''PY''' [[Pylos]] : 1087 tablets.
*'''TH''' [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]]: 99 tablets + 238 published in [[2002]] (L. Godart and A. Sacconi, 2002; see under [[Thebes tablets]])
*'''MY''' [[Mycenae]]: 73 tablets.
*'''TI''' [[Tiryns]]: 27 tablets.
*'''KH''' [[Chania]]: 4 tablets.
*another 170 inscriptions in Linear B were found on vessels.
The publication of the [[Thebes tablets]] (L. Godart and A. Sacconi, [[2002]]) was long anticipated, and their actual content was rather disappointing compared to what had been hinted at by the editors in the previous years.
If it is genuine, the [[Kafkania pebble]], dated to the [[17th century BC]], would be the oldest known Mycenean inscription, and hence the earliest preserved testimony of the Greek language.
===Chronology===
The main archives for Linear B are associated with these stages of [[Helladic period|Late Minoan and Helladic pottery]]:<ref>This table is heavily indebted to {{cite web|first=Cynthia|last=Shelmerdine|title=Where Do We Go From Here? And How Can the Linear B Tablets Help Us Get There?|url=http://www2.ulg.ac.be/archgrec/IMG/aegeum/aegaeum18(pdf)/34%20Shelmerdine.pdf|accessdate=2008-03-27}}</ref>
'''[[Minoan civilization#Chronology and history|LM II]]''' (1425-1390 BC):
* Knossos, Room of the Chariot Tablets.
'''LM IIIA2''' (1370-1340 BC) or '''IIIB''' (1340-1190 BC):
* Knossos, main archive.
'''LM IIIB''':
* Chania, tablet Sq 1, 6659, KH 3 (possibly Linear B).
'''LH/LM IIIB1 end''':<ref>LM III is equivalent to LH III from a chronological perspective.</ref>
* Chania, tablets Ar 3, Gq 5, X 6.
* Mycenae, tablets from Oil Merchant group of houses.
* Thebes, Ug tablets and Wu sealings.
'''LH IIIB2, end''':
* Mycenae, tablets from the Citadel.
* Tiryns, all tablets.
* Thebes, Of tablets and new Pelopidou Street deposit.
* Pylos, all but five tablets.
===Controversy===
The [[Knossos]] archive was dated by Sir [[Arthur Evans]] to the destruction by conflagration at about 1400 BC (which baked and preserved the clay tablets), in the Late Minoan II (LM II) period. Evans made a career of excavating the [[Knossos]] site in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and creating the concept of [[Minoan civilization]], which he believed was historically accurate.
This view stood until [[Carl Blegen]] excavated the site of ancient [[Pylos]] in 1939 and uncovered tablets inscribed in Linear B, one of the two scripts discovered at Knossos and named by Evans. Those tablets were fired in the conflagration that destroyed Pylos about 1200 BC, at the end of Late Helladic IIIB (LHIIIB). With the decipherment of Linear B by [[Michael Ventris]] in 1952 serious questions about Evans' date began to be considered. Most notably, Blegen said that the inscribed stirrup jars (an oil flask with stirrup-shaped handles) imported from Crete around 1200 were of the same type as those dated by Evans to the destruction of 1400. Blegen found a number of similarities between 1200 BC Pylos and 1400 BC Knossos and suggested the Knossian evidence be reexamined, as he was sure of the 1200 Pylian date.
The examination uncovered a number of difficulties. The Knossos tablets had been found at various locations in the palace and Evans had not kept exact records. Recourse was had to the day books of Evans' assistant, Duncan MacKenzie, who had conducted the day-to-day excavations. There were discrepancies between the notes in the day books and Evans' excavation reports. Worse, the two men had quarreled over the location and strata of the tablets, MacKenzie had called Evans a liar, and Evans had not only sacked him but made sure he did not excavate anywhere else.
The results of the reinvestigation were eventually published in a definitive work: {{cite book|first=L.R.|last=Palmer|coauthors=John Boardman|title=On the Knossos Tablets|city=Oxford|date=1963|publisher=Clarendon Press}}. It consists of two works, Leonard Palmer's ''The Find-Places of the Knossos Tablets'' and John Boardman's ''The Date of the Knossos Tablets.'' In this book Palmer plays the role, so to speak, of prosecuting attorney and Boardman of defending attorney; consequently, the dispute was known for a time as "the Palmer-Boardman dispute."
Like questions concerning the veracity of [[Heinrich Schliemann]] the controversy soon escalated beyond the evidence, which set the world of classical scholarship looking for additional evidence to resolve the question once and for all, a still unfulfilled hope. There appeared to be no "smoking gun" of Evans' mendacity; that is, he could in his excavation reports have simply been generalizing to resolve contradictions in the data. Moreover Blegen's arguments depended more on a preponderance of evidence rather than any single incontrovertable proof. No such incontrovertible proof was ever found.
The real issue was whether sufficient reason existed to question Evans. It was never resolved and there is as much evidence for 1400 as there is for 1200. There not being a solid reason to doubt Evans the community of classical scholars tends to support a date of 1400 by default; that is, LM IIIA:2. As for LH IIIB, it likely begins in the 1310s or 1300s BC, after [[Mursilis II]]'s sack of [[Miletus]]; it ends around 1200 BC.
The colours of the scholars can be identified by the dates they give for the tablets. This article utilizes an outline developed by Cynthia Shelmerdine, who is in the Boardman camp. While stating two possibilities for the main archive of Knossian tablets, she accepts a 1400 date for the Room of the Chariot Tablets. There still might have been two conflagrations and tablet firings, one in 1200 and one in 1400. As an example of a scholar who is in the Palmer camp, see {{cite web|first=Jeremy B.|last=Rutter|date=2000|title=Lesson 25: The Linear B Tablets and Mycenaean Social, Political, and Economic Organization|
work=Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean|url=http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/25.html#2|accessdate=2008-03-28}} Rutter relies on a similarity of scribal hand between one of the Chania tablets and the Knossos tablets and dates all the tablets from 1350-1300 to 1200 BC.
Nearly every scholar presents his view as the generally accepted view or the one most proved by recent evidence. Regardless of how they may present their perceptions, the issue is very much open and the search for evidence continues.
===Contents===
The major cities and palaces used Linear B for records of disbursements of goods. Wool, sheep, and grain were some common items, often given to groups of religious people and also to groups of "men watching the coastline."
The tablets were kept in groups in baskets on shelves, judging by impressions left in the clay from the weaving of the baskets. When the buildings in which they were housed were destroyed by fires, many of the tablets were then fired.
==Decipherment==
The first [[clay tablet]] at [[Knossos]] was discovered by the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[archaeologist]] [[Arthur Evans]] on [[March 31]], [[1900]] and on [[April 6]] he discovered a significant hoard of tablets (measuring 5x10 inches).
The convention for numbering the symbols still in use today was first devised by [[US]] Professor [[Emmett L. Bennett, Jr.|Emmett Bennett]], who, by [[1950]], had deciphered the metrical system. He was also an early proponent of the idea that Linear A and B represented different languages.
[[Michael Ventris]] and [[John Chadwick]] performed the bulk of their decipherment of Linear B between [[1951]] and [[1953]]. At first, Ventris chose his own numbering system, and agreed with Evans' hypothesis that Linear B was not Greek, however later switched back to Bennett's system, and ultimately reached the conclusion that Linear B was indeed an early form of Greek.
Before their work, [[Alice Kober]] had studied Linear B and had managed to construct grids, linking symbols that seemed to have a strong grammatical relationship. Kober had noticed that a number of Linear B words had common roots and suffixes. This led her to believe that Linear B represented an inflected language, with nouns changing their endings depending on their case. However, some characters in the middle of the words seemed to correspond with neither a root nor a suffix. Because this effect was found in other, known languages, Kober surmised that the odd characters were bridging syllables, with the beginning of the syllable belonging to the root and the end belonging to the suffix. This was a reasonable assumption, since Linear B had far too many characters to be considered alphabetic and far too few characters to be [[logogram|logographic]]; therefore, each character should represent a syllable.
Using the knowledge that certain characters shared the same beginning or ending sounds, Kober built a table similar to the one above; her untimely death at age 43 in 1950 prevented her from possibly taking the final step or see others do it, namely to link the characters to actual phonetics.
Based on her work, and after making some inspired assumptions, Ventris was able to figure out the pronunciation of the syllables. The deciphering of Linear B proved that it was a written form of Greek, to the amazement of Ventris himself, but also in direct contradiction to the general scientific views of the times. Chadwick, an expert in historical Greek, helped Ventris decipher the text and rebuild the vocabulary and grammar of Mycenaean Greek.
Ventris' discovery was of immense significance, because it demonstrated a Greek-speaking Minoan-Mycenaean culture on Crete, and presented Greek in writing some 600 years earlier than what was thought at the time.
==Unicode==
Linear B is assigned [[Unicode]] range 10000–1007F for syllabograms and 10080–100FF for ideograms.
{{Unicode chart Linear B Syllabary}}
{{Unicode chart Linear B Ideograms}}
==Notes==
<div style="height: 250px; overflow: auto; padding: 3px; border:1px solid #AAAAAA; reflist4" >
{{reflist|2}}
</div>
==Further reading==
* {{cite book | author=[[John Chadwick|Chadwick, John]] | title=The Mycenaean World | publisher=[[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1976 | id=ISBN 0-521-29037-6}}
* {{cite book | author=[[John Chadwick|Chadwick, John]] | title=The Decipherment of Linear B | publisher=Second edition (1990). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1958 | id=ISBN 0-521-39830-4}}
* {{cite book | author=[[John Chadwick|Chadwick, John]] | title=Linear B and Related Scripts; "Reading the Past" | publisher=Third impression (1997). [[University of California Press]]/[[British Museum]] | year=1987 | id=ISBN 0-520-06019-9}} has the [[Enkomi]] clay tablet, circa 1500 BCE., examples of Linear B tablets, and translated, the basic Linear B '''''syllabary''''', the Cypriot ''syllabary'' and discussions thereof, and short sections on [[Linear A]], and the [[Phaistos Disk]].
* {{cite book | author=[[Saul Levin|Levin, Saul]] | title=The Linear B Decipherment Controversy Re-examined | publisher=[[State University of New York Press]] | year=1964 | id={{OCLC|288842}}}}
* {{cite book | author=[[Andrew Robinson (author)|Robinson, Andrew]] | title=The Story of Writing | publisher=Paperback edition (1999). [[Thames and Hudson]] | year=1995 | id=ISBN 0-500-28156-4}} Chapter 6, Linear B, pp 108-119: discusses Arthur Evans, his work, the Cypriot clues, the '''''syllabary,''''' Alice Kober, the "Grid", and a sample tablet ''transliterated, and translated into English.''
* {{cite book | author=[[Simon Singh|Singh, Simon]]|publisher=Anchor|title=[[The Code Book]] | year=2000 | id= ISBN 0-385-49532-3}} for a general outline of the Linear B deciphering story, from Schliemman to Chadwick.
* {{cite book | author=[[Michael Ventris|Ventris, Michael]] | title=Work notes on Minoan language research and other unedited papers | publisher=Edizioni dell'Ateneo 1988 Roma | year=1988}}
* {{cite book | author=[[Michael Ventris|Ventris, Michael]] and Chadwick, John| title=Documents in Mycenaean Greek | publisher=Second edition (1973). [[Cambridge University Press|Cambridge UP]] | year=1956 | id= ISBN 0-521-08558-6}}
==See also==
{{Commonscat|Linear B}}
*[[Aegean civilization]]
*[[Linear A]]
*[[Linear C]]
*[[Trojan script]]
==External links==
*{{dmoz|Science/Social_Sciences/Linguistics/Graphemics_and_Orthography/Linear_B/}}
*Greek-Language.com: [http://greek-language.com/historyofgreek/linear_b.html The Linear B Syllabary]
*[[Dartmouth College|Dartmouth]]: [http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/classics/history/bronze_age/index.html The Prehistoric Archaeology of the Aegean], [http://projectsx.dartmouth.edu/history/bronze_age/lessons/les/25.html The Linear B Tablets and Mycenaean Organization]
*[[University of Texas at Austin|UT-Austin]]: [http://www.utexas.edu/research/pasp/ Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory (PASP)]
*[http://www.ancientscripts.com/linearb.html AncientScripts.com: Linear B]
*[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/linearb.htm Linear B at Omniglot]
*[[Unicode]] code pages for the Linear B [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10000.pdf syllabary] and [http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10080.pdf logograms], including sample glyphs.
*[http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_LinearBSyllabary.html Unicode Linear B Syllabary TrueType fonts] (some also include ideograms)
*[http://www.mockfont.com/old/ Free, but incomplete, non-unicode Linear B TrueType font among other ancient fonts.]
*[http://www.explorecrete.com/archaeology/linearB.pdf Markos Gavalas, MYCENAEAN (Linear B) - ENGLISH Dictionary] (explorecrete.com)
*[http://www.teicrete.gr/daidalika/ DAIDALIKA - Scripts and Languages of Minoan and Mycenaean Crete]
{{writing systems}}
[[Category:Hellenic scripts]]
[[Category:Syllabary writing systems]]
[[Category:Bronze Age writing systems]]
[[Category:Mycenaean Greece]]
[[Category:Aegean civilization]]
[[Category:History of Crete]]
[[Category:Cretan hieroglyphs]]
[[bg:Линеар Б]]
[[ca:Escriptura Lineal B]]
[[cs:Lineární písmo B]]
[[da:Linear B]]
[[de:Linearschrift B]]
[[et:Lineaarkiri B]]
[[el:Γραμμική Β]]
[[es:Lineal B]]
[[fr:Linéaire B]]
[[gl:Lineal B]]
[[hr:Linearno B pismo]]
[[it:Lineare B]]
[[he:כתב לינארי ב']]
[[mk:Линеарно писмо Б]]
[[nl:Lineair B]]
[[ja:線文字B]]
[[no:Linear B]]
[[nn:Linear B]]
[[pl:Pismo linearne B]]
[[pt:Escrita linear B]]
[[ru:Линейное письмо Б]]
[[sk:Lineárne písmo B]]
[[fi:Lineaari-B-kirjoitus]]
[[sv:Linear B]]
[[th:อักษรไลเนียร์บี]]