Evidence · Proto-Sinaitic and Wadi el-Hol: the first alphabet
The descendant Canaanite script wrote ordinary Northwest Semitic sentences, as the seventeen-letter wish against lice…
The descendant Canaanite script wrote ordinary Northwest Semitic sentences, as the seventeen-letter wish against lice on the Lachish ivory comb shows.
What it means
Openunchanged
Answer this evidence bears onShort Northwest Semitic votive texts and names, partly readable
Supports2 for, none against
Still possibleunchanged
Next steps 4
1
Extend the corpus list (DAT0DEDVG40T7X0) with a sign-by-sign transliteration of every inscription from Sass 1988 and Hamilton 2006, marking uncertain and damaged signs, so readings can be compared on one table.
~20 h
—not judged
2
Transliterate every inscription sign by sign into the corpus list from Sass 1988 and Hamilton 2006.
~20 h
—not judged
3
Collate the published full readings (Albright 1966, Wilson-Wright 2016, Puech 2024, Darnell et al. 2005) inscription by inscription, and score where they agree on sign identity, direction and word division.
~12 h
—not judged
4
Compare sign counts on each rock panel between the 1917 Gardiner-Peet plates (DAT0DEDVGPGMXDV), Butin's copies and the British Museum photographs, to list which signs have been lost or are disputed since discovery.
~8 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes
Sources 1
A Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish
SRCVainstub et al. 2022
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). The descendant Canaanite script wrote ordinary Northwest Semitic sentences, as the seventeen-letter wish against lice… [Evidence EVD0DEE96H241Z2]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE96H241Z2
@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dee96h241z2,
title = {The descendant Canaanite script wrote ordinary Northwest Semitic sentences, as the seventeen-letter wish against lice…},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DEE96H241Z2},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE96H241Z2}
}