Full Description
Western civilization has long sought its cultural roots in the classical civilizations of the Aegean. During the twentieth century, however, it has been made increasingly clear that it owes a great debt to the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. In the thick of the debate as to how much classical civilizations were influenced by the Levant has been the question of the date of the transmission of the alphabet. In this monograph, Bernal takes up the question anew and marshals persuasive arguments that the date of transmission of the alphabet should be moved considerably earlier than generally has been thought, to the middle of the second millennium B.C. Growing out of his work on Black Athena, the intricate matters of alphabetic history and transmission are dealt with, both in terms of the history of the investigation of the topic and also with regard to the specific working out of his own new proposal.
Contents
Tables, Charts, and Maps
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. Historiography of Alphabetic Transmission from the Levant to the Aegean
From Antiquity to the Eighteenth Century
Nineteenth Century: Rivalry between the Ancient and Aryan Models
Early Twentieth Century: The Development of the Extreme Aryan Model
Mid Twentieth Century: The Debate about the Date of the Ahiram Inscription
Recent Studies
2. Difficulties with the Conventional Dating of Transmission to the Eleventh of Ninth Centuries BC
Where in the Levant Did the Western Alphabets Originate?
Problems in the Aegean
Problems with Other Mediterranean Alphabets
Anatolian Alphabets
Etruscan Alphabet
Messapic Alphabet
Spanish Syllabaries
Numidian and Tifineh Alphabets
3. A New Scheme of Alphabetic Transmission
Disadvantages of Wave Model and Higher Chronology
Lack of Simplicity
Lack of Attestation
Biographic Societies
Cypriot Syllabary
Application of New Proposal
Ugaritic and South Semitic Alphabets
Minean-Sabean Alphabet
Thamudic Alphabet
Nature of the Alphabet of Primary Transmission
4. The Spanish Syllabaries
5. The Greek Alphabets
6. Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Index of Authorities
