Linear B

The Mysterious LanguageBy Elizabeth, Kate and Zander

O.K. everyone, decode this Linear B tablet now. Any luck yet? I have given you 15 seconds so you should have an answer.How are you going to do it?What does it say?Do you feel like a failure because you can't figure it out?Well, that's how Alice Kober and Michael Ventris felt when they first started deciphering.Without them, no one would know what                                                              the tablet says today.                                                             Let's not waste any more                                                              time waiting for you to                                                             figure it out and get on                                                              with the lesson. 

The Language..... KateOn ancient Crete, there were three types of writing, Pictures, Linear A and Linear B.The pictures were used from 2,000-1,650 B.C. Only pictures of things.Linear A was used from1,750-1,450 B.C. Linear A wasmostly made up of lines. 

                                                    (Linear A tablet)         

  Linear B was from 1,450-1,375B.C. Linear B seemed to be a

less complex form of Linear A. 

                       (Linear B tablet)                                                                                                   

Why Linear B was Chosen to be Deciphered..........Kate

The language that archaeologists chose to decipher was Linear B, because it was the least confusing and looked the most like words we use today. Linear B has a syllable alphabet with a consonant to vowel or just a vowel like a,e,i,o,u or ja,je,ji,jo,ju. when they found Linear B, it was written on clay tablets that were preserved by a fire. 

Linear B Alphabet............Kate

The next page is the Linear B alphabet. You can find the syllables by using letters in the columns and rows.For example, if you want tofind ma, you would look onthe m row and the a column.

In linear B the alphabet also has shapes/signs used to make words easier to understand.

Where Linear B was found......Zander

Linear B tablets were mainly found in the colossal castle known as Knossos.  Linear B was also found in a castle on the south of Crete. This castle was called "Phaistos." It was written on disks there. The disks were perfectly formed and had perfect etches in them. The tablets in Knossos were closely related and looked almost exactly the same. It was still very odd though that Linear B was found on a castle that was very far away from Knossos. I think Phaistos was a completely different civilization that was taught how to write by the Minoans and then the Minoans conquered Phaistos and then the castle and territory became part of Crete.  

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Phaistos

 Phaistos disk    The Phaistos disk was very different from the clay tablets. First of all, it was written on a disk and not tablets. When I first saw the Phaistos disk, I thought that it could be a frisbee and the writing could be rewards for the athlete. The Phaistos disk is probably a heavy object and has a low probability of being a frisbee.

(Phaistos) (Linear B Disk)

The Start of Deciphering Linear B.......Elizabeth          

The decipherment of Linear B started when Sir Arthur Evans found some clay tablets with Linear B writing on them.Two people together deciphered Linear B.  Those people were Alice Kober and Michal Ventris.  Before they deciphered it, Linear B was considered a language impossible to crack.         (Knossos with Linear B tablets on it)                  (Sir Arthur Evans)

Alice Kober's Part in the Deciphering..............................Elizabeth

 Alice Kober started the deciphering by figuring out that the alphabet of Linear B was madeof syllables, not letters.Alice also figured out that the syllables were made up of either one vowel or one consonantand then a vowel and also some rules of the language.                                                                                                                      (Alice Kober)

Alice Kober's Chart

This is Alice Kober's chart ofLinear B syllables.  She made this when she was just starting to grasp the syllables in it.  It shows how Linear B words can have different endings. Without this chart, Linear Bmight never have been discovered.

Michal Ventris's Part in the Deciphering of Linear B..........ElizabethAlice Kober died soon after she started the decipherment of Linear B.  However, Michal Ventriswas able to continue her work andit was he who finished the decipherment.Michal Ventris made new discoveriesabout the language, like that there aresometimes silent 'I's is the word has anodd number of letter. Eventually, Michal Ventrisdeciphered a few words.  His vocabularygrew until he had it fully deciphered.  BothAlice Kober and Michal Ventris made itpossible for us to be able to read whatwas on those tablets today.                                                                           (Michal Ventris) 

This is a video about the finding and 

 the deciphering of Linear B   

                                                  

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BibliographyWorks Cited

" Google Image Result for http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/LX/Images/LinearB.jpg." Google. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. <http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/LX/Images/LinearB.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/LX/LinearB.html&usg=__p3bKP7_v5W60hEM0HiFBoajNZ4A=&h=350&w=277&sz=26&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=dr8_BpdQ9_soEM:&tbnh=128&tbnw=1>. Lo, Lawrence . "Ancient Scripts: Linear B." Ancient Scripts: Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. http://www.ancientscripts.com/linearb.html."Jan Mensing - Das Geheimnis von Linear B." Institut für Verteilte Systeme - Otto Von Guericke University. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. <http://www-ivs.cs.uni-magdeburg.de/bs/lehre/wise0102/progb/vortraege/jmensing/mensing2.html>.London. Michal Ventris. 2010. University of London Institute of Classical Studies, London. Institute of Classical Studies Awards and Prizes. Web. 4 Jan. 2011.  

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Bibliography Continued 

Works Cited "Odyssey Online: Greece." Michael C. Carlos Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2010. http://carlos.emory.edu/ODYSSEY/GREECE/home.html. Peach, Susan, and Anne Millard. The Greeks. Tulsa, Oklahoma: EDC PUBLISHING , 1990. Print.Sacks, David, and Oswyn Murray. A dictionary of the ancient Greek world  . New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. Print. Dintino, Theresa. "Amazons on Minoan Crete «  ." Amazons on Minoan Crete. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2011. http://www.ritualgoddess.com/the2012vortex/?p=696. Singh, Simon. The code book:  the science of secrecy from ancient Egypt to quantum cryptography. New York: Anchor Books, 20001999. Print. 

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Bibliography Continued 2Works Cited 

Howitt , Caitlin. Linear B tablet. 2001.  The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology Classroom, Pylos. Archaeologies of the Greek Past. Web. ."Phaistos Disc (Phaistos Disk) Decipherment." History of Civilization - A Renaissance in Learning - LexiLine.com Index Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Jan. 2011. <http://www.lexiline.com/lexiline/lexi3.htm>.Woods,  Christopher. Linear A Script. 2009. Historic Connections-Interactive Archaeology & Ancient History, Chicago. HISTORY of WRITING. Web. .  

"BBC - h2g2 - The Decipherment of Linear B." BBC - Homepage. N.p., 26 Aug. 2005. Web. 4 Jan. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A4596735>."On this day in 1900 | The Traveler's Steampunk Blog." Daily Steampunk - Das Webprojekt jetzt auch auf Deutsch. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan. 2011.

<http://daily-steampunk.com/steampunk-blog/2010/03/16/on-this-day-in-1900/>.Tiunchik, Oleg. "Knossos, a photo from Iraklion, Crete | TrekEarth." Learning about the world through photography | TrekEarth. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jan.

2011. <http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/Greece/photo389980.htm>.  

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Credits! 

Introduction........................................................................ZanderThe Language....................................................................KateWhy Linear B was Chosen to be Dechiphered..............KateLinear B Alphabet Page....................................................KateWhere Linear B was Found..............................................ZanderPhaistos disk......................................................................ZanderThe closing.........................................................................ZanderThe start of Deciphering Linear B....................................ElizabethAlice Kober's Part in the Deciphering.............................ElizabethMichal's part in the Decipherement of Linear B.............ElizabethAlice Kober's Chart...........................................................ElizabethThe Bibliography Page................................................ElizabethEditor for Grammer...................................................Elizabeth, ZanderReading Material...............................................................ElizabethPictures Found and Inserted......................Elizabeth, Zander and KateThe video page and finder of video.................................KateDecorations........................................................................Kate