Is the Greek Alphabet Older Than Once Thought?

Archaeology Magazine ^ | May 8, 2025 | editors / unattributed

[SunkenCiv]

The other GGG topics added since the previous digest ping, alpha:

• AI could go 'Terminator,' gain upper hand over humans in Darwinian rules of evolution, report warns [04/05/2023]
• American Revolution The Capture of Fort Ticonderoga [05/10/2025]
• Anglo-Saxon gold and garnet raven's head found [05/12/2025]
• Archaeologists discover tomb of Egyptian royalty behind false door: 'Unveils new secrets' [05/12/2025]
• Archaeologists Found a 700-Year-Old Dagger Symbolically Shaped Like Testicles [05/17/2025]
• Britain's Largest Iron Age Gold Coin Hoard Revealed [05/17/2025]
• The Brontosaurus Is Back [it really is a separate species] [04/08/2015]
• Chimps use medicinal plants to treat their wounds [05/14/2025]
• Cosmic rays, not carbon dioxide, cause climate change [05/13/2025]
• Cut-price MAGNA CARTA 'copy' now believed GENUINE [05/15/2025]
• An 8-Year-Old Boy Got a Metal Detector for His Birthday -- and Found a 170-Year-Old Shipwreck [05/15/2025]
• The enduring charm of King Solomon's Mines [05/12/2025]
• France gives the Statue of Liberty to the United States [05/14/2025]
• Hidden Beneath Antarctic Ice for Eons, a "Deeply Puzzling" Soviet-era Discovery Finally Reveals Its Secrets [05/12/2025]
• How the humble chestnut traced the rise and fall of the Roman Empire [05/15/2025]
• Largest antebellum mansion in the south -- built in 1859 with 165 rooms -- burns to the ground [05/17/2025]
• Louisiana plantation is on fire. [05/16/2025]
• Man stumbles across hoard of priceless coins while out for nature walk: 'Face to face with history' [05/12/2025]
• Meet the Capacabra, A Bizarre Creature With Human Hands [05/14/2025]
• Mystery Creature Resembling Blood-Sucking 'Chupacabra' Appears on Woman's Doorstep [05/16/2025]
• Punic people were genetically diverse with almost no Levantine ancestors [Phoenicians and Carthaginians] [05/12/2025]
• Roman-Era Mass Grave of Soldiers Unearthed in Vienna [05/13/2025]
• Rome's Mirror Sister: The Hidden Legacy of Autun - Full Documentary [52:20] [05/15/2025]
• Sitting Congressman Reveals Secret Underground Tunnel Beneath U.S. Capitol -- Claims There are Still Hidden Network of Passageways Still Unknown to Public (VIDEO) [05/10/2025]
• Southwest Britain Supplied Tin That Gave Rise to the Mediterranean Bronze Age [05/17/2025]
• Three-Eyed "Sea-Moth" Predator From 506 Million Years Ago Stuns Scientists [05/14/2025]
• Unprecedented Survey of Aztec Obsidian Reveals Coast-to-Coast Trade Network [05/16/2025]
• When Did Animals Leave Their First Footprint on Earth? [05/13/2025]
• Wonderful Nonsense: The Algonquin Roundtable | Historical Documentary [05/15/2025]

[SunkenCiv]

One of *those* topics. Twofer topic.

---

join or quit view topics view or post blog bookmark post new topic subscribe

---

[SunkenCiv]

The weekly Digest topics list is above.

[Jonty30]

I read that the Greeks may have had their origins as Canaanites.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“The Phoenician alphabet — which was composed of only consonants and no vowels...”

Now how would that sound?

[Jonty30]

CN THS B RD?

[Jonty30]

It was to save time when writing things, but the vowels were still understood to be there.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“Save time”?

How would they know that they were saving time if they had never before written vowels? Doesn’t make sense.

[Jonty30]

I think they were aware. Papyrus or stone were expensive mediums and leaving agreed upon letters, that does not abandon understanding, would make sense to them. It saves time and money.

A modern version would be what we do when we leave letters out as part of a puzzle.

[bunkerhill7]

Clicks

[Telepathic Intruder]

I’ve heard of other written languages in which the vowels were assumed. Sort of like how most words written in English are not phonetically spelled, and you must assume the correct pronunciation.

[Cronos]

Phoenician, Hebrew are not alphabets but abjads. Semitic languages (e.g., Phoenician, Hebrew) have a root-based morphology where words are built from consonant roots (e.g., k-t-b for “write”). Vowels often indicate grammatical variations (tense, number, etc.) rather than core meaning. Consonants carried the primary semantic weight, so writing systems prioritized them.

The Phoenician alphabet evolved from Proto-Sinaitic scripts, which were influenced by Egyptian hieroglyphs. These earlier systems often represented consonants or syllables, and the abjad model built on this tradition. Early writing systems, like cuneiform and hieroglyphs, were complex and labor-intensive.

Omitting vowels reduced the number of symbols needed, making the system more efficient for scribes and traders, as the Phoenicians had only 22 characters.

Fluent speakers of Semitic languages could infer vowels from context and their understanding of grammar and vocabulary.
Sentence structure and surrounding words provided hints about vowel placement. Such as verb or noun placement.

I tried learning Hebrew once but gave up and retreated to the familiarity of Indo European languages. My mind could not wrap around Semitic languages.

[dinodino]

Same as the Semitic and Egyptian languages. Vowels were implied.

[InkStone]

You post the BEST THINGS ; Thank You : May God bless you. And THANK YOU for helping us to consider new ideas. John 3:16

[Blennos]

Nt by m. nly by vry smrt ppl.

[gleeaikin]

Yes, this can be read, unless it is red.

[rmlew]

Vowel existed in the sense that people spoke with them. The diacritics used for vowel did not. Some letters like Ayin, Vav, and Aliph could be a vowel or consonant depending on position and case of the word. Modern Hebrew is descended from ths alphabet and vowels are rarely used outside of school.

[Jemian]

Indonesian is my second language and I live in Indonesia. Many people here write w/o vowels in their text messages. I have a lot of trouble figuring out what is being texted.

[Adder]

“Chon”? Who is Chon?

Chon...of Dub.

Tells you right there...

[Bigg Red]

mark