Linear B inscriptions

E36867

archaeological artifact inscription corpus primary historical source

Linear B inscriptions are ancient clay tablet writings using the Linear B script that record administrative and economic activities in Mycenaean Greek palatial centers.

Aliases (4)

Linear B script ×2
Linear B tablets ×2
Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos ×1
Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Pylos ×1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	archaeological artifact → inscription corpus → primary historical source →
associatedWithCulture	Mycenaean civilization →
cataloguedIn	Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos → Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Pylos →
chronology	Late Bronze Age →
coDecipherer	John Chadwick →
contentType	landholding records → lists of commodities → offerings to deities → personnel rosters → ration allocations →
dateFrom	circa 1450 BCE →
dateTo	circa 1200 BCE →
decipheredBy	Michael Ventris →
deciphermentDate	1952 →
discoveredBy	archaeologists →
earliestGreekWriting	true →
foundAtSite	Chania (Kydonia, Crete) → Knossos → Mycenae → Pylos → Thebes (Boeotia) → Tiryns →
foundInCountry	Greece →
function	palatial bureaucracy management → redistributive economy administration →
influenceOnField	study of Mycenaean economy → study of early Greek language →
language	Mycenaean Greek →
material	clay →
medium	clay tablets →
notableDiscoverer	Arthur Evans →
preservationMethod	accidental firing in palace destructions →
region	Aegean →
relatedScript	Linear A →
scriptDirection	left-to-right →
scriptFamily	Aegean scripts →
scriptType	syllabic script →
use	accounting document → administrative record → economic record →
writingSystemFeature	logographic signs → numerical signs → syllabograms →
writingTool	stylus →
writtenInScript	Linear B script →

Referenced by (8)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Linear B inscriptions ("Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Knossos") → Linear B inscriptions ("Corpus of Mycenaean Inscriptions from Pylos") →	cataloguedIn
Mycenaean Greek →	attestedIn
Mycenaean Greek ("Linear B tablets") →	decipheredFrom
Ancient Greek ("Linear B script") →	earliestAttestation
Mycenae and Tiryns →	hasMaterialCulture
Mycenaean civilization ("Linear B tablets") →	materialCulture
Greek alphabet ("Linear B script") →	predecessor