A Companion to Linear B - The University of Texas at Austin
A Companion to Linear B - The University of Texas at Austin
A Companion to Linear B - The University of Texas at Austin
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§12.1.1 SCRIBES, SCRIBAL HANDS AND PALAEOGRAPHY 35<br />
the <strong>at</strong>tention paid <strong>to</strong> palaeography (viz. the study <strong>of</strong> handwriting styles) and <strong>to</strong><br />
the distinctive fe<strong>at</strong>ures <strong>of</strong> writing on clay documents th<strong>at</strong> can be <strong>at</strong>tributed <strong>to</strong><br />
individual scribes or tablet-writers. <strong>The</strong> Mycenaean texts are difficult for us <strong>to</strong><br />
read and understand, but, as we shall see, their correct interpret<strong>at</strong>ion has been<br />
facilit<strong>at</strong>ed (or even made possible) by the discovery th<strong>at</strong> we can <strong>at</strong>tribute them <strong>to</strong><br />
specific scribes and consequently group them in ways which otherwise would not<br />
have been justifiable or even imaginable. At the same time these detailed studies<br />
have a direct impact on our understanding <strong>of</strong> the workings <strong>of</strong> Mycenaean administr<strong>at</strong>ion<br />
and <strong>of</strong> the n<strong>at</strong>ure and extent <strong>of</strong> Mycenaean literacy. Why Mycenaean<br />
scholars have adopted this line <strong>of</strong> approach will become clear if we first look <strong>at</strong><br />
some <strong>of</strong> their early work both before and after the decipherment <strong>of</strong> <strong>Linear</strong> B.<br />
§12.1.1. Palaeographical studies before the decipherment<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are several reasons why palaeography has come <strong>to</strong> play such a key<br />
role in <strong>Linear</strong> B studies.<br />
First, when inscriptions first began <strong>to</strong> be noticed, purchased and finally discovered<br />
in excav<strong>at</strong>ion by Sir Arthur Evans 3 — and then by other excava<strong>to</strong>rs —, 4<br />
it was soon observed th<strong>at</strong> they fell in<strong>to</strong> three main c<strong>at</strong>egories <strong>of</strong> writing. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
Evans called Cretan Pic<strong>to</strong>graphic or Hieroglyphic, <strong>Linear</strong> A and <strong>Linear</strong> B. 5<br />
Right from the beginning, it was noticed th<strong>at</strong> these three scripts used a good<br />
many signs or characters in common.<br />
However, it was not easy <strong>to</strong> figure out with certainty wh<strong>at</strong> the similarities<br />
and differences among these writing systems meant. <strong>The</strong> inscriptions came<br />
from different sites and periods. 6 <strong>The</strong>y were written on different m<strong>at</strong>erials; we<br />
find writing on clay tablets, labels, sealings and roundels; s<strong>to</strong>ne dedica<strong>to</strong>ry<br />
vessels and s<strong>to</strong>ne seals; gold and silver artifacts; walls; and ceramic vases,<br />
mainly large s<strong>to</strong>rage vessels called pithoi and the vessels used for transporting<br />
oil known as stirrup jars. 7 And they were inscribed using different techniques:<br />
(1) carving or incising in<strong>to</strong> hard m<strong>at</strong>erial; (2) literally drawing signs in<strong>to</strong> wet<br />
and thus s<strong>of</strong>t clay; (3) painting with a brush. <strong>The</strong> shapes <strong>of</strong> the signs were<br />
affected by these different ways <strong>of</strong> writing and the different media used.<br />
3<br />
MCDONALD – THOMAS 1990, 113-169.<br />
4 Beginning in 1894 and continuing through Evans’ excav<strong>at</strong>ions <strong>at</strong> the major Cretan site <strong>of</strong><br />
Knossos.<br />
5<br />
BENNETT 1996; CHADWICK 1987; DUHOUX 1985, 8-23; MCDONALD – THOMAS 1990, 160-161;<br />
OLIVIER 1989, 237-252 and figs. 20-24; SM I.<br />
6 See PALAIMA 1990b for an overview.<br />
7<br />
BENNETT 1986; CHIC; GORILA; HALLAGER 1996; RAISON 1968; SACCONI 1974.