Researchers have also deciphered a number of words, such as those for wool and fig, based on the fact that they survived in Greek but aren’t of Greek origin. Since the administrative tablets of Linear A and B look identical, researchers have deciphered the word “total,” which usually sits at the bottom - “ku-ro” in Minoan. The tablets inscribed with Linear A are similar in appearance to those carved with Linear B, and researchers know the Minoan number system as it’s the same within both sets of characters.

The clay tablets mostly show what look like administrative records. The writing system includes about 80 signs that likely represent distinct syllables, Davis says. Linear A has mostly been found on clay tablets, though some is preserved on jewelry, stone vessels and pots. Everyone and their brother is visiting Crete,” says Brent Davis, an archaeologist at the University of Melbourne who studies the Minoans. “Crete is right on the crossroads of all these trade routes going right across the Mediterranean. The origin of the Minoans themselves remains unclear, too, but genetic studies of human remains dating to this period reveal that their Neolithic ancestry may go back to western Anatolia (what we know today as Turkey). They may have each encoded a different dialect, and possibly more than two between them. While it was determined in the 1950s that Linear B was used to jot down ancient Greek, very little is known about what spoken language Cretan hieroglyphics and Linear A were used to record. “This is among the oldest evidence of writing on European soil,” Salgarella says.

After a period of overlap came Linear B, which eclipsed the preceding writing systems by 1400 B.C. Between one and two centuries later, the next system of writing, known as Linear A, likely emerged. The oldest is referred to as Cretan hieroglyphic, of which nearly nothing has been deciphered. Our knowledge of the Cretan people’s trade habits comes from their own records, which span more than roughly two millennia and feature three different writing systems. They certainly traded among each other, and developed an extensive exchange network that included the ancient Egyptians and civilizations in the Levant. Because Cretan palaces lack defensive walls and there's no evidence of battles, some archaeologists think that the Minoans lived in relative peace, Salgarella says. These citadels probably served as religious centers and leaders' residences. On the island, every palace is a citadel, or fortress, surrounded by settlements. The term “Minoan” was named after the mythical Cretan king by Evans and others, but probably wasn’t used by the ancient people themselves. Scholars first learned of the Minoans when, in the early 20th century, British archaeologist Arthur Evans excavated the Knossos palace. The Minoans were known for constructing a number of grand palaces, such as those at Knossos and Phaistos, some of them featuring artwork that survives today. The story is fitting as the Minoans on Crete were among the first advanced civilizations in Europe. In mythological terms, Europa was the mother of one of the earliest known kings of Crete.

Ancient glyph music