# Bruhns 2007: Did the Olmec Know How to Write?

> Karen O. Bruhns, Nancy L. Kelker, 2007. 9 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The main published case against the block.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CYBBJNE430Z/did-the-olmec-know-how-to-write  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)Bruhns 2007

**0**

# Did the Olmec Know How to Write?

Karen O. Bruhns, Nancy L. Kelker, 2007. _Science 315(5817), pp. 1365 to 1366 (letter, with the authors' reply)_.

Letter questioning the block: bulldozer debris cannot date it; no other Olmec serpentine slab carries writing; the signs bunch without the linear order of a script; several signs were previously read as decoration on other objects; an unexplained "cootie" sign and the find context raise the possibility of a hoax. The original authors reply that other key finds lack provenance, that the signs are patterned, and that the "cootie" appears on San Lorenzo Monument 43.

**Cascajal block and Isthmian writing** Articledoi: **[10.1126/science.315.5817.1365b](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.315.5817.1365b)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The main published case against the block.

## Cited by on this site 9 records

[The inscription is a modern addition or hoax on an old or newly worked stone.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/answers/ANS0CYBC21M1PAX/the-inscription-is-a-modern-addition-or-hoax-on-an-old-or)

Answer

ANS

[No second Olmec text of comparable length is known.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/evidence/EVD0CYBBZVA0FM7/no-second-olmec-text-of-comparable-length-is-known)

Evidence

EVD

[Several signs had been read as decoration on other Olmec objects.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/evidence/EVD0CYBC0AY1EFT/several-signs-had-been-read-as-decoration-on-other-olmec)

Evidence

EVD

[The block is unique and from a disturbed context.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/evidence/EVD0CYBC29E5G3T/the-block-is-unique-and-from-a-disturbed-context)

Evidence

EVD

[The signs bunch without the linear layout of a script.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/evidence/EVD0CYBBZKG3MCC/the-signs-bunch-without-the-linear-layout-of-a-script)

Evidence

EVD

[Bruhns and Kelker question the block in Science](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/events/EVT0CYBBWXJ3H7Q/bruhns-and-kelker-question-the-block-in-science)

EVT

[Karen O. Bruhns](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/people/FIG0CYBBSR02E31/karen-o-bruhns)

FIG

[The Cascajal block and Isthmian writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block)

The mystery article

MYS

[Is the block an ancient Olmec object?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/cascajal-block/questions/QST0CYBBXN038ZM/is-the-block-an-ancient-olmec-object)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Bruhns, K. O., & Kelker, N. L. (2007). Did the Olmec Know How to Write?. Science 315(5817), pp. 1365 to 1366 (letter, with the authors' reply). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.315.5817.1365b
```

[Find it at doi.org](https://doi.org/10.1126/science.315.5817.1365b)

Key

**SRC** 0CYBBJNE430Z

Kind

Journal article

Rights

The publisher's

Checked

Against the published article

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

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