Archaeology Term: Linear B
Linear B is a syllabic script used by the Mycenaeans around the 13th century BCE, primarily for writing Mycenaean Greek. It is most famously found on clay tablets and other artifacts discovered in Crete and mainland Greece.
The script is a significant development in the history of ancient writing, as it represents the earliest form of Greek writing. Linear B was used for administrative and economic purposes, with many tablets documenting inventories, records of goods, and lists of workers.
Unlike the earlier Linear A script used by the Minoans, Linear B was deciphered in the 1950s by the British architect and linguist Michael Ventris. This breakthrough provided a crucial understanding of the Mycenaean language, confirming that it was an early form of Greek, and revealed a wealth of information about Mycenaean society.
Linear B symbols are mostly syllabic, with each symbol representing a consonant-vowel pair, though it also contains logograms representing whole words. Despite its complexity, the script is largely phonetic, making it easier to decipher than other ancient scripts.
The Mycenaean Greeks used Linear B for record-keeping in their palaces, including sites like Knossos, Pylos, and Mycenae. These tablets often contained information about the distribution of goods, allocation of resources, and details about religious and political affairs.
Linear B is important because it provides insight into the administrative systems of the Mycenaeans. The script also sheds light on the cultural and economic activities of the time, offering clues about their trade networks, military organization, and the structure of their society.
While Linear B was used primarily for administrative purposes, it also reveals some religious and mythological information, providing a link between Mycenaean Greece and later Greek culture. Many of the gods mentioned in Linear B inscriptions are directly linked to figures in later Greek mythology, such as Zeus and Poseidon.
The decipherment of Linear B marked a major achievement in the study of ancient languages. Today, it remains a cornerstone of Mycenaean archaeology, offering invaluable insight into the early history of Greece.
In conclusion, Linear B is a key archaeological and linguistic discovery that has expanded our understanding of Mycenaean civilization. Its decipherment provided a direct connection between the ancient Greeks and their later cultural developments.
