Lost languages : the enigma of the world's undeciphered scripts /
Robinson, Andrew,1957-
London : Thames & Hudson,
2009.
"Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs Lost Languages moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. They include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. Lost Languages reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes and giving voice to forgotten worlds."--Cover.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-340) and index.
"Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs Lost Languages moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. They include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. Lost Languages reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes and giving voice to forgotten worlds."--Cover.
Introduction : writing systems, coded civilizations and undeciphered scripts -- pt. 1. Three great decipherments. Voicces of the Pharaohs: Egyptian hieroglyphs (Egypt) -- Labyrinth of minos : Linear B (Green) -- Bishop de Landa's inquisition: Mayan glyphs (Central America) -- Voices of the black pharoahs : the meroitic script (Sudan) -- Greek but not Greek : the etruscan alphabet (Italy) -- Mediterranean mystery : linear a (the Aegean) -- Secrets of the ancient ledgers : the proto-elamite script (Iran)
Extinct languages.
Inscriptions, Ancient.