A linguistic labyrinth called Linear A

During his excavations at Knossos, Arthur Evans discovered three different scripts that were used by Cretan civilizations. The oldest is an undeciphered pictographic script called Cretan Hieroglyphic. The other two scripts have a more linear form and were named Linear A and Linear B by Evans. About 50 years after the excavations, Michael Ventris succeeded in translating Linear B, the youngest of the three scripts that was used by the Mycenaeans. He was able to decipher the Mycenaean language with the insight that the language that was written in Linear B is related to the ancient Greek language which we can read and understand.

Although Linear B is clearly derived from Linear, to date it has not been possible to decipher Linear A. It is, however, presumed that Linear A, as Linear B, is a syllabic script in which each sign represents a syllable. Attempts to apply phonetic values from the same Linear B syllabic signs to Linear A signs result in gibberish, and the same holds for comparisons with other ancient languages. A few achievements, however, have been made: by comparing the fixed form of libation formulas, some words can be translated and it can be stated with caution that the finite word order in a sentence is verb-subject-object.[Davis 2013]. However, no matter how many bright minds look into the decipherment, the biggest problem of the Linear A linguistic labyrinth are the sources of Linear A texts. The mere 1500 inscriptions consisting of one or more Linear A signs are not enough to compare the combinations in order to decipher more words. The decipherment depends, therefore, mainly on new archeological finds with Linear A inscriptions, and a Ventrisian insight to which other languages Linear A could be related.

However, there are a few things we can say about the use of Linear A and the materials on which it is written. All Linear A sources are divided into two categories: administrative and non-administrative. In the first category we find clay tablets with Linear A texts, and nodules and seals with some Linear A signs. The second category has a greater diversity of materials - gold, metal, stone - on which Linear A was written. [Adams 2017] This distinguishes Linear A from Linear B texts, that we have found mainly on clay tablets and some stirrup jars, although Linear B was probably also written on other perishable materials. Linear A is also found on stone vessels and stone libation tables, on inscribed ceramics and painted ceramics, such as this drinking cup, and there are also a handful of inscriptions on stuccos or inscribed in metal [Flouda 2013]. The fact that Linear A was used on a wide range of materials suggests that this script was also written or painted on perishable materials that are now irretrievably lost.