Scripts



LAOTIAN script used in Laos.
LINEAR A A script used on Crete about 2000 to 1500 B.C. Originally hieroglyphic, not yet decoded. Predecessor of Linear B and Cypriot.
LINEAR B A script used on Crete and in Mycenaean Greece about 1500 to 1200 B.C., recently decoded by architect Michael Ventris. A derivative of Linear A.
LUWIAN A hieroglyphic script, used in S. Anatolia and N. Syria, about 1000 to 700 B.C.
MALAYALAM script used in Kerala, SW India, since the 9th century A.D.
MANCHURIAN script, emerged in the 17th century, based on Uighur, written vertically
MAYA in the last 10 years considerable progress has been made with the decoding of the Maya script, which is hieroglyphic. Many inscriptions and a number of manuscript have survived the Spanish conquest.
MONGOLIAN a script based on Arab, but, like Chinese, written vertically. Used in Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, adjacent regions of Russian Siberia.
NORTHEAST IBERIAN A partly alphabetic, partly syllabic script derived from Punic with Greek elements, used in Spain and southern France. After the Roman conquest replaced by Latin.
OGHAM A script used in Ireland and Wales, about 300 to 600 A.D.
OLD PERSIAN a cuneiform script.
ORIYA script used in India's lower Ganges valley (historical Magadha)
PAHLAVI a script developed in Persia in the 2nd century B.C., used until the 7th century A.D., when it was replaced by Arabic.
PROTO CANAANITE also called Proto Sinaitic, assumed to be the first alphabetic script. Its characters were derived from Egyptian hieroglyphs; it emerged around 1700 B.C.
PHAISTOS the famous Phaistos disc, found at Phaistos on Crete, has an inscription in a still undecoded language. Around 1700 B.C.
SINGHALESE script used by the Singhalese population majoriti of Sri Lanka (former Ceylon)
SOUTH ARABIAN a script which emerged in South Arabia (Yemen) around 500 B.C. and was used until the 7th century A.D., when it was replaced by Arab. The Ethiopic script is derived from the South Arabic script.
SOUTH IBERIAN A partly alphabetic, partly syllabic script derived from Punic, with Greek elements, used in southern Spain and Portugal until the Roman conquest when it was replaced by Latin.
SUMERIAN oldest written language on record, in cuneiform script, Archaic Sumerian 3100-2500 B.C., Old Sumerian 2500-2300, New Sumerian 2300-2000. After that, Sumerian was only used in religious texts, elsewhere replaced by Akkadian.
TAMIL script used in Tamil Nadu (India) and by the Tamil minority on Sri Lanka. It emerged in the 3rd century B.C.
TELUGU script used in India's Andgra Pradesh state. It was created in 633 A.D.
THAI script used in Thailand. The oldest documents date from the 13th century; derived from S. India's Pali script.
TIBETAN a script derived from Brahmi, emerging in the 9th century A.D.
TIFINAGH a derivative of the ancient Berber script, still used by the Tuaregs, and especially by women.
UGARITIC an alphabetic cuneiform script which emerged in Ugarit (Phoenicia) where it was used from 1300 B.C. onward, until it was replaced by Aramaic.
UIGHUR originally a modified Arab script. Used until 1930, when it was replaced by a modified Latin script..
URARTIAN variant of the Neo-Assyrian script (cuneiform); used from the 9th to the 6th century B.C.






This page is part of World History at KMLA
Last revised on September 9th 2001