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Undeciphered Writing System
Many undeciphered writing systems exist today; most date back several thousand years, although some more modern examples do exist. The term "writing systems" is used here loosely to refer to groups of glyphs which appear to have representational symbolic meaning, but which may include "systems" that are largely artistic in nature and are thus not examples of actual writing. The difficulty in deciphering these systems can arise from a lack of known language descendants or from the languages being entirely isolated, from insufficient examples of text having been found and even (such as in the case of Vinča) from the question of whether the symbols actually constitute a writing system at all. Some researchers have claimed to be able to decipher certain writing systems, such as those of Epi-Olmec, Phaistos and Indus texts; but to date, these claims have not been widely accepted within the scientific community, or confirmed by independent researchers, for the writing systems list ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indus Script
The Indus script, also known as the Harappan script and the Indus Valley script, is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilisation. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not they constituted a writing system used to record a Harappan language, any of which are yet to be identified. Despite many attempts, the "script" has not yet been deciphered. There is no known bilingual inscription to help decipher the script, which shows no significant changes over time. However, some of the syntax (if that is what it may be termed) varies depending upon location. The first publication of a seal with Harappan symbols dates to 1875, in a drawing by Alexander Cunningham. By 1992, an estimated 4,000 inscribed objects had been discovered, some as far afield as Mesopotamia due to existing Indus–Mesopotamia relations, with over 400 distinct signs represented across known inscriptions. Some scholars, such as G.& ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banpo Symbols
Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, artifacts bearing markings dating to the Neolithic period have been unearthed at several archeological sites in China, mostly in the Yellow River valley. These symbols, collectively called ( 'pottery scripts'), have been compared to the oracle bone script — the earliest known forms of Chinese characters, first attested — and have been cited by some as evidence that Chinese writing has existed in some form for over six millennia. However, the Neolithic symbols have only been found in small numbers, and do not appear to go beyond pictorial techniques, as is required to obtain a true writing system representing spoken language. Nature Small collections of symbols have been found at several archeological sites dating to the Neolithic period in what is now China. The symbols are either pictorial in nature, or are simple geometric figures, and have either been incised into or drawn onto artifacts—mostly pottery, but sometimes a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vikramkhol Cave Inscription
Vikramkhol or Bikramkhol cave is a prehistoric archaeological site known for prehistoric inscriptions. Location Vikramkhol cave is located near Jharsuguda, Odisha, India and lies in Reserved Forest of Belpahar range, at a distance of 12 km from Belpahar. Inscriptions The inscriptions at Vikramkhol cave are written on an uneven rock surface in a natural rock shelter using red Ochre paint which is later incised into the rock. The inscriptions were discovered around the 1930s and first studied by Dr K P Jayaswal. who tentatively dates it to 1500 BC. There are two theories regarding the inscription – one declares it a writing, while others doubt it as a rock art and nonliterate rock carvings. Theory of literate script According to Jayaswal, the prehistoric scribblings at Vikramkhol represent a picto-syllabic writing system which represents a mixture of Harappan and Brahmi hence forming a connection between the two. The inscribed portion covers an area of 35 feet by 7 fee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neolithic Europe
The European Neolithic is the period from the arrival of Neolithic (New Stone Age) technology and the associated population of Early European Farmers in Europe, (the approximate time of the first farming societies in Greece) until –1700 BC (the beginning of Bronze Age Europe with the Nordic Bronze Age). The Neolithic overlaps the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods in Europe as cultural changes moved from the southeast to northwest at about 1 km/year – this is called the Neolithic Expansion. The duration of the Neolithic varies from place to place, its end marked by the introduction of bronze tools: in southeast Europe it is approximately 4,000 years (i.e. 7000 BC–3000 BC) while in parts of Northwest Europe it is just under 3,000 years (–1700 BC). In parts of Europe, notably the Balkans, the period after is known as the Chalcolithic (Copper Age) due to the invention of copper smelting and the prevalence of copper tools, weapons and other artifacts. The spread of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinča Symbols
The Vinča symbols are a set of undeciphered symbols found on artifacts from the Neolithic Vinča culture and other "Old Europe (archaeology), Old European" cultures of Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe. They have sometimes been described as an example of proto-writing. The symbols went out of use around 3500 BC. Many scholars agree that the "writing" itself is not based on any language whatsoever and it is mostly symbolic. Discovery In 1875, archaeological excavations directed by the Hungarian archaeologist Baroness Zsófia Torma (1840–1899) at Tordos (present Turdaș, Romania) unearthed marble and fragments of pottery inscribed with previously unknown symbols. At the site, on the Mureș (river), Maros river, a feeder into a tributary of the Danube, female figurines, pots, and artifacts made of stone were also found. In 1908, a similar cache was found during excavations directed by Serbian archaeologist Miloje Vasić (1869–1956) in Vinča, a suburb of Belgr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guangxi
Guangxi,; officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People's Republic of China, located in South China and bordering Vietnam (Hà Giang Province, Hà Giang, Cao Bằng Province, Cao Bằng, Lạng Sơn Province, Lạng Sơn, and Quảng Ninh Provinces) and the Gulf of Tonkin. Formerly a Provinces of China, province, Guangxi became an autonomous region in 1958. Its current capital is Nanning. Guangxi's location, in mountainous terrain in the far south of China, has placed it on the frontier of Chinese civilization throughout much of History of China, Chinese history. The current name "Guang" means "expanse" and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in 226 AD. It was given Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty, provincial level status during the Yuan dynasty, but even into the 20th century, it was considered an open, wild territory. The abbreviation of the regi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sawgoek
Sawgoek ("root script", IPA: ) or sawva ("insect script", ) was a mythological ancient script mentioned in the Zhuang creation epic '' Baeu Rodo'' ( modern Zhuang script: ''Baeuqroekdoz''). The primordial god Baeu Ro was said to have brought ''sawgoek'' containing four thousand glyphs along with fire to the Zhuang people. However, in their unfamiliarity with fire, the people stored the fire under a thatched roof, causing the house to catch on fire. The ''sawgoek'' was consumed in the ensuing conflagration, and knowledge of writing was lost. Some Zhuang scholars believe that this myth stems from a vague remembrance of ''sawgoek'' in the collective consciousness of the Zhuang people long after knowledge of the writing system had been forgotten. Sawveh ("etched script", ) refers to some 140 individual symbols inscribed on stonework, pottery, and bronzeworks excavated in western Guangxi, dating from the late Neolithic to the Bronze Age, the earliest examples being contemporary with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wucheng Culture
The Wucheng culture (吳城文化) was a Bronze Age archaeological culture in Jiangxi, China. The initial site, spread out over , was discovered at Wucheng Township, Jiangxi. Located on the Gan River, the site was first excavated in 1973. The Wucheng culture probably developed in response to cultural contacts with the expanding Erligang culture, melding Erligang influences with local traditions. The Wucheng culture was a distinct contemporary of Sanxingdui and Yinxu (Anyang). The site at Wucheng was a regional protoporcelain production center; the culture is known for its distinctive geometric pottery. The Wucheng culture is also known for its bronze bells, the clapperless ''nao''. The Wucheng site at Xingan contained a rich cache of localized bronze vessels. The bronze axes were similar to those of the Dong Dau culture in the Red River valley. The earliest period, around 1600 BCE, contemporaneous with late Erligang, yielded pottery shards with inscribed symbols. These are un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wucheng Symbols
Wu Cheng or Wucheng may refer to: People *Emperor Wucheng of Northern Qi (537–569), emperor of the Northern Qi dynasty * Wu Cheng (Wuyue) (893–965), chancellor of the Wuyue Kingdom * Wu Cheng (philosopher) (1249–1333), philosopher during the Song and Yuan dynasties *Wu Cheng, one of the fictional bearers of the mantle of the White Dragon in DC Comics Places in China *Wucheng County, a county in Shandong *Wucheng District, a district in Jinhua, Zhejiang * Wucheng Township, Zhangshu, a township in Zhangshu, Jiangxi **Wucheng culture, Bronze Age culture in Wucheng Township, Zhangshu * Wucheng Township, Shanxi (吴城乡), a township in Hunyuan County, Shanxi * Wucheng Subdistrict (坞城街道), a subdistrict in Xiaodian District, Taiyuan, Shanxi Towns * Wucheng, Wuwei County (无城), in Wuwei County, Anhui * Wucheng, Xiuning County (五城), in Xiuning County, Anhui * Wucheng, Tongbai County (吴城), in Tongbai County, Henan * Wucheng, Wuyang County (吴城), in Wuyang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longshan Culture
The Longshan culture, also sometimes referred to as the Black Pottery Culture, was a late Neolithic culture in the middle and lower Yellow River valley areas of northern China from about 3000 to 1900 BC. The first archaeological find of this culture took place at the Chengziya Archaeological Site in 1928, with the first excavations in 1930 and 1931. The culture is named after the nearby modern town of Longshan (lit. "Dragon Mountain") in Zhangqiu, Shandong. The culture was noted for its highly polished black pottery (or egg-shell pottery). The population expanded dramatically during the 3rd millennium BC, with many settlements having rammed earth walls. In addition to the Shandong area, variants developed in the middle Yellow River area, Taosi in the Fen River valley, and in the Wei River valley. Around 2000 BC, the population decreased sharply and large settlements were abandoned in most areas except the central area, which evolved into the Bronze Age Erlitou culture. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Longshan Symbols
Beginning in the latter half of the 20th century, artifacts bearing markings dating to the Neolithic period have been unearthed at several archeological sites in China, mostly in the Yellow River valley. These symbols, collectively called ( 'pottery scripts'), have been compared to the oracle bone script — the earliest known forms of Chinese characters, first attested — and have been cited by some as evidence that Chinese writing has existed in some form for over six millennia. However, the Neolithic symbols have only been found in small numbers, and do not appear to go beyond pictorial techniques, as is required to obtain a true writing system representing spoken language. Nature Small collections of symbols have been found at several archeological sites dating to the Neolithic period in what is now China. The symbols are either pictorial in nature, or are simple geometric figures, and have either been incised into or drawn onto artifacts—mostly pottery, but sometimes a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dawenkou Culture
The Dawenkou culture was a Chinese Neolithic culture primarily located in the eastern province of Shandong, but also appearing in Anhui, Henan and Jiangsu. The culture existed from 4300 to 2600 BC, and co-existed with the Yangshao culture. Turquoise, jade and ivory artefacts are commonly found at Dawenkou sites. The earliest examples of alligator drums appear at Dawenkou sites. Neolithic signs, perhaps related to subsequent scripts, such as those of the Shang dynasty, have been found on Dawenkou pottery. Additionally, the Dawenkou practiced dental ablation and cranial deformation, practices that disappeared in China by the Chinese Bronze Age. Chronology Archaeologists commonly divide the culture into three phases: the early phase (4100–3500 BC), the middle phase (3500–3000 BC) and the late phase (3000–2600 BC). Based on the evidence from grave goods, the early phase was highly egalitarian. The phase is typified by the presence of individually designed, long-stemmed c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
