|
|
|
The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts
Andrew Robinson
ISBN: 9780500514535
Format: Hardback
Publisher:Thames & Hudson Ltd
Write a review
Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments - Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs - Lost Languages moves on the dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world…
Beginning with the stories of three great decipherments Egyptian hieroglyphs, Minoan Linear B and Mayan glyphs, "Lost Languages" moves on to dissect the most well-known and enigmatic undeciphered scripts from around the world. They include the Etruscan alphabet of Italy, the Indus Valley seal script, Rongorongo from remote Easter Island, the Zapotec script of Mexico (probably the first writing system in the Americas), and the unique Phaistos disc of Crete. "Lost Languages" reports from the front lines of scholarship where obsessions, genius, occasional delusion and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among those currently competing for the rare honour of cracking these ancient codes and giving voice to forgotten worlds.
| ISBN | 0500514534 | | DEWEY edition | DC22 | | ISBN13 | 9780500514535
(What's this?) | | Pages | 352 | | Publisher | Thames & Hudson Ltd | | Weight (grammes) | 1320 | | Imprint | Thames & Hudson Ltd | | Published in | London | | Format | Hardback | | Height (mm) | 232 | | Publication date | 16 Feb 2009 | | Width (mm) | 185 | | DEWEY | 417.7 | | Academic level | Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Professional / Scholarly |
|
| |
| | | Preface | | 8 | | Introduction | | Writing Systems, Coded Civilizations and Undeciphered Scripts | | 10 | | Pt. I | | Three Great Decipherments | | | | I | | Voices of the Pharaohs: Egyptian Hieroglyphs (Egypt) | | 50 | | II | | The Labyrinth of Minos: Linear B (Greece) | | 74 | | III | | Bishop de Landa's Inquisition: Mayan Glyphs (Central America) | | 104 | | Pt. II | | Undeciphered Scripts | | | | IV | | Voices of the Black Pharaohs: The Meroitic Script (Sudan) | | 140 | | V | | Greek but not Greek: The Etruscan Alphabet (Italy) | | 156 | | VI | | A Mediterranean Mystery: Linear A (The Aegean) | | 182 | | VII | | Secrets of Ancient Ledgers: The Proto-Elamite Script (Iran) | | 200 | | VIII | | Birdmen of Rapanui: Rongorongo (Easter Island) | | 218 | | IX | | The New World Begins to Write: The Zapotec and Isthmian Scripts (Mexico) | | 244 | | X | | At the Sign of the Unicorn: The Indus Script (Pakistan/India) | | 264 | | XI | | Sir Arthur's 'Chaunt of Victory': The Phaistos Disc (Crete) | | 296 | | | | Conclusion | | | | XII | | The Urge to Decipher | | 316 | | | | Notes and References | | 324 | | | | Further Reading | | 334 | | | | Bibliography | | 335 | | | | Illustration Credits | | 341 | | | | Index | | 344 |
|
|
|
|
|
Enlarge
