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Researchers Might Have Found Oldest Alphabetic Sentence in Israel

时间:2022-11-14 01:23:03

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Israeli researchers have found an ancient comb that has what is likely the oldest known full sentence written in Canaanite. The discovery was described in a study published recently in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology1.

The writing could be 3,700 years old. It tells people to comb their hair and beards to remove small insects known as lice. The sentence contains 17 letters that read: "May this tusk2 root out the lice of the hair and the beard."

Experts say the discovery gives information about some of the earliest use of the Canaanite alphabet, invented around 3,800 years ago. The Canaanite alphabet was the base for later alphabetic3 systems, such as Hebrew, Greek, Latin and Cyrillic.

The subject of the writing suggests that people had trouble with lice in everyday life at the time. Researchers said they have even found microscopic4 evidence of head lice on the comb.

The comb was first found in 2016 in southern Israel. But it was only late last year when a professor at Israel's Hebrew University noticed the tiny words written on it.

The lead researcher, Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University, spoke5 to The Associated Press. He said that while many ancient objects with Canaanite writing have been found over the years, the comb has the first complete sentence to be discovered.

Garfinkel said earlier findings contained just a few letters, maybe a word here and there. Such short pieces of writing did not leave much room for further research on the lives of the Canaanites. "We didn't have enough material," he said.

The find opens up the debate about the ancient time period, Garfinkel added. He said it was important that the sentence was found on an ivory comb in the ancient city's palace and temple area. It also was notable that the writing spoke of a beard. Garfinkel said it could suggest that only wealthy men were able to read and write.

"It is a very human text," Garfinkel said. "It shows us that people didn't really change, and lice didn't really change."

Canaanites spoke an ancient Semitic language that is related to modern Hebrew, Arabic and Aramaic. The Canaanites lived in the lands along the eastern Mediterranean6. They are believed to have developed the first known alphabetic system of writing.

The complete sentence further suggests that Canaanites stood out among early civilizations in their use of the written word. "It shows that even in the most ancient phase there were full sentences" Garfinkel added.

He said experts dated the script to 3,700 years ago by comparing it to the ancient Canaanite alphabet found earlier in Egypt's Sinai Desert. Such writing dates back between 3,900 and 3,700 years.

But, the study noted7, carbon dating of the comb failed to show its exact age.

Austrian archaeologist Felix Höflmayer, an expert on the period who was not part of the publication, said the method of dating was not good enough.

"There are just not enough securely dated early alphabetic inscriptions9 currently known," he said. But, he added the discovery was important.

"Seventeen letters preserved on a single object is definitely remarkable," Höflmayer said.

Words in This Story

comb – n. a flat object with a row of thin teeth that is used for making hair neat

tusk – n. a very long, large tooth that sticks out of the mouth of an animal (such as an elephant, walrus10, or boar)

alphabet – n. the letters of a language arranged in their usual order

professor – n. a teacher especially of the highest rank at a college or university

phase –n. a period that is part of a series of events showing a process of development

inscription8 – n. words that are written on or cut into a surface


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1 archaeology 0v2zi     
n.考古学
参考例句:
  • She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
  • He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。
2 tusk KlRww     
n.獠牙,长牙,象牙
参考例句:
  • The wild boar had its tusk sunk deeply into a tree and howled desperately.野猪的獠牙陷在了树里,绝望地嗥叫着。
  • A huge tusk decorated the wall of his study.他书房的墙上装饰着一支巨大的象牙。
3 alphabetic zz6z0m     
adj.照字母次序的,字母的
参考例句:
  • A generic name for a device that can store and process numeric and alphabetic in formation. 能存储和处理数字与字母信息的设备的总称。 来自辞典例句
  • A coded character set whose character set is an alphabetic character set. 一种编码字符集,它的字符集是一种字母字符集。 来自互联网
4 microscopic nDrxq     
adj.微小的,细微的,极小的,显微的
参考例句:
  • It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
  • A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。
5 spoke XryyC     
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说
参考例句:
  • They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
  • The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。
6 Mediterranean ezuzT     
adj.地中海的;地中海沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
  • Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。
7 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
8 inscription l4ZyO     
n.(尤指石块上的)刻印文字,铭文,碑文
参考例句:
  • The inscription has worn away and can no longer be read.铭文已磨损,无法辨认了。
  • He chiselled an inscription on the marble.他在大理石上刻碑文。
9 inscriptions b8d4b5ef527bf3ba015eea52570c9325     
(作者)题词( inscription的名词复数 ); 献词; 碑文; 证劵持有人的登记
参考例句:
  • Centuries of wind and rain had worn away the inscriptions on the gravestones. 几个世纪的风雨已磨损了墓碑上的碑文。
  • The inscriptions on the stone tablet have become blurred with the passage of time. 年代久了,石碑上的字迹已经模糊了。
10 walrus hMSzp     
n.海象
参考例句:
  • He is the queer old duck with the knee-length gaiters and walrus mustache.他穿着高及膝盖的皮护腿,留着海象般的八字胡,真是个古怪的老家伙。
  • He seemed hardly to notice the big walrus.他几乎没有注意到那只大海象。

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