Mysteries Department
Sign inRequest access
0

Do Eteocretan and Eteocypriot continue the Bronze Age languages written in Linear A and Cypro-Minoan?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·2 answers·0·0 following
Two answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible.

Why it matters

Eteocretan is spoken of as the descendant of the Minoan language of Linear A, and Eteocypriot as the descendant of a language written in Cypro-Minoan, but in both cases about a thousand years separate the corpora and neither Bronze Age script has secure values beyond those borrowed from its relatives⁠[1]⁠[2]⁠[3]. Janko's reading of the Enkomi cylinder as an Eteocypriot account is the most specific continuity proposal⁠[4].

Answers 2

Evidence: 1 for
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

History

  1. Yves Duhoux: both Iron Age groups come from places of long pre-Greek settlement and are written in or beside scripts descended from…For: Both continue their Bronze Age local languages
  2. Yves Duhoux: about a thousand years separate each Iron Age corpus from its Bronze Age predecessor, and neither Linear A nor…For: Continuity is plausible but untestable on present evidence
  3. Yves Duhoux: both Iron Age groups come from places of long pre-Greek settlement and are written in or beside scripts descended from…For: Both continue their Bronze Age local languages
  4. Valério: about a thousand years separate each Iron Age corpus from its Bronze Age predecessor, and neither Linear A nor…For: Continuity is plausible but untestable on present evidence
  5. Philippa M. Steele: both Iron Age groups come from places of long pre-Greek settlement and are written in or beside scripts descended from…For: Both continue their Bronze Age local languages
  6. Salgarella: about a thousand years separate each Iron Age corpus from its Bronze Age predecessor, and neither Linear A nor…For: Continuity is plausible but untestable on present evidence
  7. Session 1: raised the question, proposed two answers and found two results bearing on its answers
Add evidence
1What it bears on2What you found3Where it comes from
Which answer?
Does it count for or against it?
In a sentence, what did you find?
What you found optional
Where it comes from optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Propose an answer
Your answer, in a sentence
What would rule it out? optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Ask a sub-question
Your question
Why it would help optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.
Add a source
The source
What it shows about this question optional
Two reviewers check it before it counts, one of whom backs a different answer. You'll hear back by email: accepted, needs changes, or a duplicate.

Discussion 0

Add to the discussion