Here is a detailed explanation of the linguistic evolution and current understanding of undeciphered scripts, focusing specifically on Linear A and the Rongorongo glyphs.
Introduction: The Puzzle of Lost Languages
The "linguistic evolution" of an undeciphered script is a paradox. Because we cannot read them, we cannot trace their internal evolution (how their grammar or vocabulary changed over time) with certainty. However, linguists study their external evolution: where the scripts came from, how they relate to known writing systems, and the structural changes visible in the physical record.
Undeciphered scripts generally fall into three categories of mystery: 1. Known script, unknown language: We can pronounce the words (e.g., Etruscan), but we don't know what they mean. 2. Unknown script, known language: We know the language spoken, but not how the symbols represent it (rare, but Rongorongo might fit here). 3. Unknown script, unknown language: The "black box" scenario (Linear A).
Part 1: Linear A (The Voice of the Minoans)
Context: Used by the Minoan civilization on Crete from approximately 1800 to 1450 BCE.
1. Evolutionary Origins: The Cretan Hieroglyphs
Linear A did not appear out of nowhere. It evolved from an earlier, pictographic system known as Cretan Hieroglyphs. * The Shift to Abstraction: Just as Sumerian Cuneiform evolved from pictures of wheat and cows into abstract wedges, the Minoan writing system evolved from the artistic Cretan Hieroglyphs into the streamlined, stylized lines of Linear A. This transition marks a shift from a likely ceremonial script to a bureaucratic tool used for palace administration.
2. Structural Evolution: A Syllabary
Through statistical analysis, linguists have determined the structure of Linear A. It is a mixed syllabary. * Syllabograms: Most signs represent a syllable (like ka, te, ni) rather than a single letter. * Logograms: It also utilizes ideograms (symbols representing whole concepts, like "wine," "wheat," or "man") used for counting and inventory. * Decimal System: The numerical system is clearly understood and is decimal-based, which helps contextualize the accounting tablets.
3. The "Minoan" Language (The Substrate)
The biggest hurdle to decipherment is that Linear A encodes an unknown language, usually referred to as "Minoan." * Not Greek: When Michael Ventris deciphered Linear B in 1952, he proved it was an early form of Greek. However, when the sound values of Linear B are applied to Linear A, the resulting words produce gibberish. * The Agglutinative Hypothesis: The structure of the words suggests Minoan was likely an agglutinative language (where prefixes and suffixes are glued to a root word to change meaning), unlike Greek, which is fusional. * Linguistic Candidates: Theories regarding the language family of Linear A include Luwian (Anatolian), Semitic, or a completely isolated language indigenous to the Aegean.
4. The Legacy: Evolution into Linear B and Cypro-Minoan
While Linear A "died" with the Minoan palaces, its DNA survived. * Linear B: When the Mycenaean Greeks conquered Crete, they did not bring their own alphabet. Instead, they adapted the Linear A script to write their own Greek language. They kept the symbols but changed the underlying sound values to fit Greek phonology. * Cypro-Minoan: Linear A also spread to Cyprus, evolving into the Cypro-Minoan syllabary, which in turn evolved into the Cypriot Syllabary (which is deciphered).
Part 2: Rongorongo (The Chanting Boards of Rapa Nui)
Context: Found on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) in the 19th century. Only about two dozen wooden objects survive.
1. Evolutionary Origins: Invention or Contagion?
The most heated debate regarding Rongorongo concerns its genesis. * Independent Invention: Some scholars argue Rongorongo is one of the few times in human history (alongside Sumer, China, and Mesoamerica) that writing was invented completely from scratch, independently. * Trans-Cultural Diffusion (Stimulus Diffusion): Others argue that when the Spanish annexed the island in 1770, the Rapa Nui chiefs saw the Europeans writing a treaty. Though they didn't know how writing worked, they grasped the concept that marks could record speech, inspiring them to create their own system.
2. Structural Evolution: Boustrophedon
Rongorongo has a unique reading direction known as reverse boustrophedon. * How to read: You read the bottom line from left to right. Then, you must rotate the tablet 180 degrees to read the next line up. This suggests the tablets were meant to be held and turned by a chanter or priest during recitation.
3. The Linguistic Code: Proto-Writing vs. Full Script
Is Rongorongo a full script (like English, capable of recording any sentence) or a mnemonic device (proto-writing)? * The Lunar Calendar: The only sequence partially deciphered is a calendar. We can identify glyphs for the moon and counting marks. * The "Chants": Oral traditions collected in the late 19th century suggest the tablets were used to prompt the memory of priests reciting genealogies or creation chants. * The Language: The underlying language is undoubtedly an old form of Rapa Nui (a Polynesian language). However, the script is likely highly condensed—"keywords" rather than full sentences—making it incredibly difficult to reconstruct the grammar.
Comparison of Evolutionary Stagnation
Both scripts suffer from specific issues that prevent our understanding of their evolution:
| Feature | Linear A | Rongorongo |
|---|---|---|
| Corpus Size | Moderate (thousands of fragmented tablets). | Tiny (approx. 25 objects). |
| Bilinguals | None (no "Rosetta Stone"). | None. |
| Underlying Language | Unknown (Minoan). | Known (Old Rapa Nui), but the method of encoding is unknown. |
| Descendants | Evolved into Linear B (deciphered). | Extinct (knowledge lost due to slave raids and disease in 1860s). |
Conclusion: The Future of Decipherment
The evolution of these scripts is currently being explored not by Indiana Jones-style discovery, but by computational linguistics.
- Machine Learning: Researchers are training AI on the visual patterns of Linear A to fill in gaps in broken tablets and identify linguistic roots shared with other languages.
- Statistical Modeling: For Rongorongo, computers are analyzing the frequency of glyph repetition to determine if the symbols behave like an alphabet (20-30 signs), a syllabary (50-100 signs), or a logographic system (thousands of signs). Current counts suggest a mixed syllabary/logographic system (similar to Egyptian hieroglyphs).
Until a bilingual text is found or AI cracks the code, the "evolution" of these scripts remains a study of their shape and structure, rather than the voices locked inside them.