QuestionsProto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabetWho invented the alphabet, and could they read Egyptian?Answer
Answer · Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet
Non-literate Canaanite workers (Goldwasser)
Canaanite workers who could not read Egyptian invented the alphabet by naming hieroglyphic pictures in their own language and keeping the first consonant of each name.
Where it stands
Still possibleOne piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.
What it predicts
- Every letter can be derived from a monumental hieroglyphic picture without recourse to hieratic.
- No Middle Kingdom alphabetic text will be found on papyrus or in an administrative context.
- The signs chosen will continue to match hieroglyphs visible on Sinai or Delta monuments of the period.
What would rule it out
- A letter whose only plausible prototype is a hieratic form.
- A Middle Kingdom alphabetic text in a scribal or administrative context.
Evidence 1 for · 1 against
FOR
The questions it answers
Open4 answers, none ahead
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Non-literate Canaanite workers (Goldwasser) [Answer ANS0DEDY8E0R19P]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEDY8E0R19P
@misc{mysteriesdept_ans0dedy8e0r19p,
title = {Non-literate Canaanite workers (Goldwasser)},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Answer, catalog key ANS0DEDY8E0R19P},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEDY8E0R19P}
}