# Rebus principle · Concept > Using the sign for one thing to write a different word that sounds the same. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DEDY1N5MN91/rebus-principle Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) --- [Concepts](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts)Rebus principle Concept · writing systems · in 3 mysteries # Rebus principle Using the sign for one thing to write a different word that sounds the same. [Franklin expedition (HMS Erebus and HMS Terror)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition)[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)[Indus script](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script)[2 sources] The rebus principle is the step by which a picture sign becomes a sound sign: the sign for a thing is used to write another word, or part of a word, that is pronounced alike, as a drawing of an eye can write "I". Once a script does this it is tied to one language, because the pun only works in the language whose words sound alike, and that is why a secure rebus is the standard proof that an undeciphered script records a particular language. In Mesopotamia the classic example is the sign for an arrow, Sumerian ti, used to write ti "life"; whether any such spelling exists in the Uruk IV texts is the central dispute over proto-cuneiform [@whittaker2005sumerian] [@dahl2025early]. A proposed rebus must be checked in context: the sign must not have a plausible pictorial or institutional reading, and the sound value must not be borrowed from a later period in which the sign may have changed value. ## Where it comes up **[Franklin expedition (HMS Erebus and HMS Terror)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition)** [Q: When and how did Erebus and Terror sink?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/questions/QST0D59JZKJ4RQZ/when-and-how-did-erebus-and-terror-sink)[Q: Why did 24 of 129 men die aboard Erebus and Terror before April 1848, when other Arctic expeditions lost few?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/questions/QST0D59JZ3Y4S45/why-did-24-of-129-men-die-aboard-erebus-and-terror-before)[It occurred among the last survivors at a few sites, such as Erebus Bay.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/answers/ANS0D59K7NC6YGS/it-occurred-among-the-last-survivors-at-a-few-sites-such-as)[Erebus lies far south of where the ships were abandoned.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/evidence/EVD0D59K4060YCD/erebus-lies-far-south-of-where-the-ships-were-abandoned)[Cut marks and pot polish on bones from Erebus Bay.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/evidence/EVD0D59K7X664ZZ/cut-marks-and-pot-polish-on-bones-from-erebus-bay)[Signs of scurvy in the Erebus Bay remains.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/franklin-expedition/evidence/EVD0D59K1J279ZS/signs-of-scurvy-in-the-erebus-bay-remains) **[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)** Proto-cuneiform was devised by and for Sumerian speakers and its signs stood for Sumerian words, with limited rebus spelling from Uruk III. [Q: When and how did phonetic spelling begin in Mesopotamian writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT8N8Y2GZ/when-and-how-did-phonetic-spelling-begin-in-mesopotamian)[Q: What language, if any, do the proto-cuneiform texts record?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT73JJJ1B/what-language-if-any-do-the-proto-cuneiform-texts-record)[Proto-cuneiform records Sumerian](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEDW4B5BNA0/proto-cuneiform-records-sumerian)[Reviews of the proposed early rebus spellings find no secure Uruk IV case, and the first secure syllabic signs appear…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9FRYCC0C/reviews-of-the-proposed-early-rebus-spellings-find-no-secure)[Proponents of a Sumerian reading cite a handful of Uruk III sign uses as rebus spellings, which would push phonetic…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9GGPD7HF/proponents-of-a-sumerian-reading-cite-a-handful-of-uruk-iii) **[Indus script](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script)** [Parpola's rebus method yields readings for several frequent signs that cohere with later Indian iconography.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/indus-script/evidence/EVD0CWY3JZ870SF/parpolas-rebus-method-yields-readings-for-several-frequent) ## Sources 2 [The Sumerian Question: Reviewing the Issues](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHQE9W64H/the-sumerian-question-reviewing-the-issues) SRC [The Early Development of the Cuneiform Writing System, and Its Regional Adaptation](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK8RPEY2P/the-early-development-of-the-cuneiform-writing-system-and) SRC ## Cite it ``` Mysteries Department. (2026). Rebus principle [Concept CPT0DEDY1N5MN91]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DEDY1N5MN91 ``` Key **CPT** 0DEDY1N5MN91 Record Concept Field Writing systems Related [Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment) · [Syllabary](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW02C55EK/syllabary) · [Logographic script](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW02H879M/logographic-script) Version 1 Added by [apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo) **How this page is made.** The definition is the site's, in its own words. “Where it comes up” is read from the answers, methods and evidence that name the concept. Related concepts [Decipherment](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW01ZWFP5/decipherment)[Syllabary](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW02C55EK/syllabary)[Logographic script](https://mysteriesdept.com/concepts/CPT0DECW02H879M/logographic-script) The record Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history. [JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/CPT0DEDY1N5MN91)