Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Origins of the Alphabet

New potentially Early Alphabetic finds from Umm al-Marra (Syria) and Sealand (Mesopotamia) require a reanalysis of traditional out-of-Egypt hypotheses of alphabetic origins. The present article considers the problems new discoveries introduce for traditional understandings of alphabetic invention an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Richey, Madadh (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
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Published: Western Academic Press 2023
In: Maarav
Year: 2023, Volume: 27, Issue: 1/2, Pages: 1-38
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Alphabet / Umm el-Marra / Levant (Nord) / Hieroglyphus / Sinai
IxTheo Classification:BH Judaism
HB Old Testament
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:New potentially Early Alphabetic finds from Umm al-Marra (Syria) and Sealand (Mesopotamia) require a reanalysis of traditional out-of-Egypt hypotheses of alphabetic origins. The present article considers the problems new discoveries introduce for traditional understandings of alphabetic invention and proposes to overcome these problems by endorsing a northern Levantine context for the Early Alphabet’s initial adaptation from Egyptian hieroglyphs and its earliest usage. This proposal is contextualized among—and arguably supported by consideration of—other scribal experiments in the Levant during the Middle and Late Bronze Ages.
Contains:Enthalten in: Maarav
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1086/727576