analogous to Glagolitic, Hebrew 5, Coptic 5 and Samaritan 2, the Linear A has 33 and
Linear B has 32 characters which matches in form with the Glagolitic characters. That
shows convincingly which writing systems are most closely related to each other.
The possible answer to the similarities between Glagolitic, Greek, Hebrew, Samaritan
and Coptic has to be sought in the deep past of the Balkans, in the 6th- 4th millennium
BC when Vinča, Valci Dol, Karanovo, Gradešnitsa and other related cultures flourished.
The creators of those cultures also spawned the first writing system in the world and this
seems to have influenced the Linear scripts of the Aegean and the Proto-Canaanic alphabet,
from which subsequently evolved Hebrew, Phoenician and Aramaic. Hebrew influenced
Samaritan alphabet and Phoenician was the prototype of the Greek alphabet. In turn the
Greek alphabet influenced the Coptic one [9].
The migrations of people from Old Thraco-Scythian lands to Crete, Levant and even Egypt
(First Intermediate Period) in 3rd and 2nd millennium BC is confirmed by the archaeology.
The distribution of peculiar types of pottery (linear/band pottery, corded pottery) and the
appearance of new type of burial (with equine sacrifice), new type of house etc. are clear
indication of the arrival of new population in Aegean Region, Levant and Northern Egypt
during the Early Bronze Age. J. Best connects those early migrations with the expansion
of the Kurgan Culture [10]p. 49-51. Recent genetic research shows that certain genetic
marker (R 1), typical for the creators of the Kurgan Culture is currently found among the
Slavic population. This marker is present also among the people in India and Western Asia
(Linear pottery appeared there in the late 3rd millennium BC, more than 3000 years after
its appearance in South-Eastern Europe), but is rare in Western Europe [11].
It is logical that the migrants, who came from South-Eastern Europe to Aegean region
and Anatolia in 3rd and 2nd millennium BC would bring with them also their writing system
and in this way would spread the knowledge of the script among many other people, who
in their turn would create their own alphabets, suited better for their own language. In
course of time the differences between the script brought from the Balkans and those of
other writing systems derived from it would become bigger and bigger, but nevertheless
some signs would retain certain similarity. For example the Linear B si corresponds in
form to Glagolitic š, Phoenician š and Hebrew š. The Linear B ra corresponds in form
to Glagolitic r, Phoenician r and Greek r. The Linear B twe corresponds to Glagolitic t
(tvъrdo) and Canaanic t. And in turn, the Linear B si, ra, two resemble very strongly the
graphemes from the considerably older Vinča script.
Table 3 presents a comparison between the Neolithic script of the Balkans and the
ancient writing systems of the Aegean region. There we can see that there are 36 matches
between NSB (Neolithic Script of the Balkans) and Linear A, and 30 matches between
NSB and Linear B.
Although there are more than 5 thousand years between the Neolithic script of the
Balkans and the Glagolitic variant of 9th Century AD, there still can be seen common
features between the two systems. These matches have also counterparts in the Linear scripts (Table 4).
BY Pavel Serafimov
SOURCE http://korenine.si/