5.5.4 Lost Languages B

• I I I I I I I I I I I I

.. - - - ·- - -·· .. - ... # �

Read to Fi:ndOut Why is it important for us to decipher lost languages?

� # - - - - -·- - - - . photo credits COVER: (bkgd) Adalberto Rios Szalay/ Sexto Sol/Getty Images.l: (c) Archivo Iconografico, S A /CORBIS. 3: (all) B.S.P.I /CORBJS 4: (br) Charles & Josette Lenars/CORBIS. 5: (tr) Ad alberto Rios Szalay/Sexto Sol/Getty Images. 7: (b) Borromeo/Art Resource, NY. 9: (c) Archivo Iconografico, S A./ CORBIS 10: (b) Mark Lewis/Aiamy. II: (t) a kg-images 13: (all) Dead Sea Scrolls Foundation, Inc, The/ CORBIS 15: (I) Courtesy of http://en wikiped10 org 17-18: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University 19: (tr) Bettmonn/CORBIS. 21: (I) Gianni Dagli Orti/CORBIS

The McGraw·Hi/1 Companies

a Macmillan t:a McGraw-Hill

• I I I I • • I I I I I •

STRATEGIES & SKILLS AT A GLANCE Comprehension • Strategy: Generate Questions

• Skill: Evaluate Author's Perspective

Vocabulary • corridor, creased, enlisted, invasion,

location, reservations, sagged,

shield

Vocabulary Strategy • Context Clues

CONTENT-AREA VOCABULARY Words related to ancient languages

(see glossary)

CONTENT STANDAR DS Social Studies • Early Cultures

Word count: 2,097**

8

Published by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill, of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., Two Penn Plaza, New York, New York 10121. Copyright© by Macmillan/McGraw-Hill. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning.

Printed in the United States of America

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 026 10 09 08 07 06

**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars ore not included.

by Dina Anastasio

Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Chapter One

Locked Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter Two

Unlocked Languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Chapter Three Missing Pieces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Chapter Four

Searching for Answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Comprehension Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

2

Throughout history, in every part of the world,

civilizations have built cities. They have made laws

and created art. Some of these civilizations have

mysteriously disappeared. What happened to them?

How can we uncover their secrets?

Fortunately, the people who lived in many of these

lost cultures left clues behind. Tiny bits of writing have

been discovered. These fragments of writing are often

the keys that can unlock the mystery of a lost culture.

All languages are codes. They are made up of words,

letters, and/or pictures that stand for something else. In

the English language, the word hat stands for something

that you wear on your head. The number 5 stands for

a certain number of things. The letter B represents a

sound found in the word ball or baby. Today hundreds of languages are spoken around

the world. To study them, we can speak to the people

who use these languages.

But some cultures are like locked boxes with

missing keys. Their languages cannot be read by

anyone. The lives of the people who used them remain

unknown to us.

As long as there are codes to crack, experts will

take language fragments apart, piece by piece, to try

to find answers. Who knows what mysteries they may

solve in the future . .

0 Egyptians used a picture alphabet that was hard to decipher.

The outline of a boot stood for the letter 8, but it also meant

foot. A square represented a mat, but it also was the sound

of P, for pedestal.

3

4

CHAPTER ONE

Even when the language of a lost civilization is found,

we can't always read it. One example of this is the

Rongorongo glyphs from Easter Island. So far we have

not found the key to unlock what the glyphs say.

In 1864 Eugene Eyraud visited a house on Easter

Island. He noticed a wooden tablet covered with

rows of small pictures. The pictures looked like stick

figures. Each figure was about the size of a fingernail.

These glyphs were part of a lost language called

Rongorongo script. Some glyphs reminded Eyraud of

birds, fish, and people. Others seemed to represent

tools, the moon, and stars. He also noticed that the

glyphs in every second row were upside down.

Over time Eyraud looked

at hundreds of these tablets.

He found them in many

locations around the island. He

discovered that the writing was

used everywhere. But Eyraud

could not explain the meaning

of the glyphs.

Glyphs were also found carved � in rocks on Easter Island.

Easter Island has another mystery. Giant

carved statues dot the island. The statues were

probably carved between A.o. 1400 and 1600.

The average statue is about 13 feet tall and

weighs 14 tons (28,000 pounds). Many of

the statues sit on ahus, which are stone

pedestals about four feet high. How did

people move the statues to other parts

of the island? Nobody knows the answer

to that question-yet.

Today only about 20 tablets remain. Most likely,

the others were used for firewood, oars, fishing tools,

and other items. For more than 130 years, people have

studied the tablets. We know that the glyphs were

probably carved into the wood with shell blades. And

we know that no other language contains glyphs like

the Rongorongo glyphs.

Many Rongorongo glyphs are repeated again and

again so experts continue to study the patterns for

clues. Some think the tiny pictures stand for words

that form thoughts and stories. Others claim that the

glyphs are only pictures and not writing at all.

5

6

In the late 1820s Charles Masson was exploring in

the Indus River Valley. He stumbled on the ruins of

a brick castle. Nearby he found some grassy, odd­

shaped mounds. He also found a round armband

carved with small pictures.

The grassy mounds were uncovered 100 years later.

Buried beneath them was a vast city. This came to be

known as the Indus Valley civilization.

hufws RivEr Va.IIEy �.--

CHINA

.# 0 ..

t

0 The Indus Valley civilization was

unearthed along the border of

India and Pakistan.

A" AcciciE"t.t.l DiscovEry The Indus Valley seals were discovered accidentally by

an English soldier named Charles Masson. Masson was

serving in India as a soldier with the East India Company.

One day Masson and another soldier left their post. They

wandered along the Indus River into territory that Britain

didn't control. Later, Masson spotted the ruins. He wrote

and illustrated a book about discovering them.

In the ruins of the ancient city, archaeologists found samples of a script, or written language. Like the

script found on Easter Island, this writing was made

up of glyphs. Many experts have tried to decipher the

language so that they can learn more about the ancient

people of the Indus Valley. Some think the answers

can be found by studying the stone seals that were

discovered in the ruins. These seals feature an animal

in the center and small glyphs at the top and bottom.

Experts are still studying these seals but they have yet

to find the key to unlock this language.

n These stamps were found m the Indus Valley. They are

about 4,000 years old. 7

8

CHAPTER TWO

Sometimes a lucky accident can provide the key

to an ancient civilization.

In 1799 a French soldier was working at a fort in

Egypt. He came upon a carved stone slab. The top

of the stone was carved with tiny pictures called

Egyptian hieroglyphs. Below that, a message was

carved in Coptic, a later Egyptian language. At the

bottom of the stone, a message was carved in Greek.

The stone became known as the Rosetta Stone.

Experts hoped it would help them unlock the

mystery of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Experts struggled to solve the puzzle of the Rosetta

Stone for more than 20 years. Nobody could figure out

how to read the Egyptian hieroglyphs. Some worked

alone. Others enlisted help. Finally, in 1822, the stone was

deciphered by a Frenchman. His name was Jean Francois

Champollion (ZHAHN FRAHN-swah shahn-pohi-YOHN).

Champollion was 18 years old when he began to

study the stone. Like many scholars at the time, he

could read Greek. But he had also studied Coptic.

He realized that the bottom two messages were the

same. If the Egyptian hieroglyphs spelled out the

same message, he would unlock one of the world's

greatest mysteries.

Champollion found that some of the hieroglyphs

were pictures that stood for things or ideas. Others

were pictures that stood for sounds. Over time, he

created a 26-letter alphabet. By doing so, Champollion

unlocked the words and thoughts of the people who

had used Egyptian hieroglyphics.

T�E KEy to HiEroc;lyp�ics

All three languages on the Rosetta

Stone were used in Egypt at the time

the messages were written.

Greek

9

Deep in the jungles of Central America, experts

from all over the world are searching for clues about

the ancient Mayan civilization. They've already located

cities with stone palaces and ball courts. They've also

uncovered glyphs carved and painted on the walls of

ruins that have been buried for thousands of years.

What can these ruins teach us about the Mayan

people and why this great culture disappeared?

Many scholars believe that the answer lies in

decoding the Mayan language. But cracking the code

is a difficult task. Mayan glyphs represent both words

and syllables. Many have more than one meaning. The

same glyph might stand for a word, sound, or an idea.

Glyphs also take on different meanings when they're

combined with other glyphs.

0 The Mayan civilization lasted from about 500 s.c. to A.D. 1200.

0 Many Mayan manusc ri pts were d t:; s t r oyr::d . Th1;. 1s o·1e of the few that survivE�d .

It has taken hundreds of years to crack the Mayan

code. Many have made guesses that were wrong. Their

spirits sagged. But today almost all of the glyphs have

been translated. Soon experts may learn exactly what

happened to this lost civilization. Did wars and invasions

lead to its fall? Or did the Mayan people fail to care for

their environment?

11

1 2

CHAPTER THR EE

Missittc; PiEcEs One day in 1947 a shepherd was searching for a

goat that had wandered away in the desert near the

Dead Sea. He climbed into a cave to look around.

Inside were seven jars filled with ancient scrolls. Since then 800 goatskin or sheepskin scrolls have

been found in 11 caves in the area. The scrolls were

named the Dead Sea Scrolls because they were found

near the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea Scrolls are not written in code, but

understanding them proved to be difficult anyway.

They had been in the caves for 2,000 years. Some of

the text was impossible to read, and whole lines of text

were missing. Only 12 of the scrolls were found intact.

The rest consists of 25,000 fragile, faded, creased

fragments of parchment. Today we know that 200 of the scrolls contain

books of the Bible. Other scrolls include rules, hymns,

and psalms. Most of these religious documents are

written in Hebrew script. But some are written in Greek,

which was the language spoken in the area then.

Scholars have been studying the scrolls for over

50 years. Today with computers and digital cameras,

scientists can study photographs so there is no need

to touch the fragile scrolls themselves.

Here is a fragment of one � of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

14

How do you crack a code when there are no

clues at all? This is the problem scholars face when

they study the Rohonczi Codex. Codex is another

word for book, usually an older book. The codex first

appeared in 1838. It was given to a science school

by a Hungarian noble, along with thousands of other

books. No one understands the language in this

448-page book. The book also contains 87 pictures

of figures and places, but no one can identify them.

CZECH ___,;- "--AUSTRIA

ROMANIA

0 The Rohonczi Codex was named after the city of Rohoncz.

N-....O�i N "1:1 �hlNif � It\) ) "'" N �:o I Cf. "t)

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/I

0 Many people think the Rohonczi Codex is written in an early

Hungarian or Latin language.

Scholars do know a few things. The alphabet in

the book has about 10 times more symbols than any

other alphabet we know about. However, some of

the symbols don't appear often. They may stand for

things. Other symbols may stand for letters. The paper

in the book was probably made in the 1540s. But the

book might have been written at an earlier time and

copied onto the paper.

Many experts have reservations about this book.

Could it be a series of made-up scribbles? Was it

written by someone who just loved playing with

language? If so, who was this person? Is the Rohonczi

Codex a hoax or is it real? Is it the missing piece that

might solve an ancient puzzle? Perhaps some day we

will know the answer.

15

16

CHAPTER F OUR

In 1912, a man named Wilfrid Voynich made an

interesting discovery when he was sorting through

some very old books in a college library. He found a

235-page manuscript written in an unknown language

and filled with illustrations of strange plants. The book

became known as the Voynich Manuscript.

A letter tucked in the book revealed that it had

been bought by an emperor who died in 1612. This

letter and other clues led scholars to agree the book

was written before 1608. But exactly when and where

was it written? And who wrote it? Experts have spent

years trying to answer these questions.

Some people studied the parchment paper it was

written on. They wanted to find out if it was made

from calfskin or lambskin. This might tell them where

the manuscript was written.

Others have looked for clues in the ink used to

write the manuscript. The carbon in the ink could

show when it was written. The red, blue, green, yellow,

and brown inks used in the drawings might provide

more clues.

At one point, a plant expert studied the illustrations

of plants looking for answers. The book was found in

Europe. Yet one of the pictures seemed to show an

American sunflower. If it was a sunflower, then the

book must have been written after 1493. That's when

Christopher Columbus took the first sunflower seeds

back to Europe. But was it really a sunflower-or a

flower that looked very much like one?

C The first

section of

the Voynich

Manuscript

contains 130

pages of

illustrations

of plants.

17

18

The biggest mystery is the Voynich script. No one

had ever seen a language like it. It doesn't resemble

the English or European alphabets. Some have

suggested that the book is written in two languages.

Had two different people written it? Could the book

have been written at a later date than it was thought?

Perhaps the author had used parchment and inks from

an earlier time in order to fool someone into paying a

great deal of money for it.

Many pondered the fact that there were very few

corrections in the

book. Had the author

or authors rewritten

the book until it was

perfect? Or had

someone copied the

manuscript?

n In the 1500s and 1600s, monks

often passed the time by making

up codes. Could the Voynich

Manuscript be a series of made-up,

mixed-up words written backwards?

A LEttEr with So�E CIYES The Voynich Manuscript was discovered in 1912 in Italy.

The letter found in the book says that the author of

the manuscript might be Roger Bacon. Bacon was

an Englishman who belonged to a

religious order. But he was kicked

out of the order because of

his "modern" ideas. Bacon

experimented with lenses,

which helped to develop the

glasses we wear today. He

also wrote about building

traveling machines hundreds

of years before cars,

submarines, and airplanes

were invented.

Some people doubt that the Voynich Manuscript

has any meaning at all. But after studying patterns

in the script, experts now believe that the book is

real. The symbols are written in patterns and follow

laws much like those in other languages. The search

for the key to understanding the Voynich Manuscript

continues today.

19

20

Cot1clwsiot1 To unravel a language code, experts must try to

leave their own world behind. A picture that looks

like a wheel to us cannot be a wheel in a culture that

never had wheels. Instead, the picture may represent

a shield or a full moon. Two lines might represent a

corridor, the number 2, or a word pattern.

In this way experts learn all they can about a lost

civilization. They study art objects and ruins. They

explore the area and learn about the languages that

were spoken and written in nearby places.

Why do some people spend most of their lives trying

to decipher a language code? Why would someone

spend years studying a stone, a book, or the scribbles

on the wall of a cave? We can learn a lot about a

culture by studying its language.

History of Lost LAt1<;&.tA<;ES

Rohonczi Codex may

have been written.

I 1540

1822 Jean Francois

Champollion deciphers

Rosetta Stone.

1790 1 __ r_I 1 s

1799 1827 Rosetta Stone

is discovered.

Charles Masson discovers

first hint of an Indus

Valley civilization.

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I . \ \ . . ( . . t. ��\ ;.. · t� .. .,� . .�. li : :.�"� � i ( . � I . \: 4!Q. : ' ! •J •' J • ,··-.;· '· l \ /" � Xl I � 1 • t o,l '• .. - � .... I , r ', I ir'"t • � ��. t '' '# • • \ ' I .r-r .. ;:. "A,- ##'

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' { •, �'� · ' 'J \ - � �- . . ·.,h: ·l\ ., �. �.1 � '\ · �, ;·· \ · ' ' .0:�',.1\• 1( � • • • '\ f, .. If • .,. t\ .,_\l1 •f \ : • , • f . 1 , "1 . •. , . I � � \ t .. • '\ ' • � ·"' *'

• • / 1 . . r- ._ . , • • I '1 ·, . I. II I ""'• • ' · . . .. 't . ·. ! .,1 1 ; • .t� ,•, . , ;. f .�,� �o.A�·-- "-""- ·\ .... -.-.r ....... .... ��--�-�:.:t-· ....:.... . .....l...�('J 0 An a nckmr GreE- k i a n g uage cz.!!ed linear 8 was decoded by an

::l!·ct1 1 te·ct nam ed M ich,H�i Ven!.ri s , who spent years working on it.

So, experts continue to try to decipher languages.

They search for clues, make guesses, and try to put

the pieces together. Sometimes it takes years to find

the key to the puzzle. And some puzzles may never

be solved.

1864 Eugene Eyraud writes

about Rongorongo

script on Easter Island.

1 1947 First Dead Sea Scrolls are

found in a cave near the

Dead Sea.

19 I 1912 The Voynich Manuscript

is discovered In

Rome, Italy.

I 11970 1962 All Mayan glyphs

are cataloged.

21

Glossary archaeologist (AHR-kee-OL-uh-jist) a person who studies the way

humans lived long ago (page 7)

civilization (siv-uh-/uh-ZAY-shuhn) a society that develops in one

place (page 2)

culture (KUL-chur) the arts, beliefs, and customs of one group of

people at a certain time (page 2)

fragment (FRAG-muhnt) a small piece that has broken off of

something (page 2)

glyph (GL!F ) a symbol or figure (page 4)

hieroglyph (HIGH-ruh-glif) a character or picture used in a

hieroglyphic system of writing (page 8)

hieroglyphics (high-ur-uh-GL!F-iks) a system of writing that uses

pictures to represent meanings or sounds (page 9)

hoax (HOHKS ) a trick (page 75)

manuscript (MAN-yuh-skript) a book or document (page 76)

parchment (PAHRCH-muhnt) the skin of a sheep or goat (page 72)

script (SKRIPT) a writing system (page 4)

scroll (SKROHL ) a roll of parchment or other material with writing on it

(page 72)

slab (SLAB) a broad, flat piece of stone (page 8)

tablet (TAB-Iuht) a stone or wooden slab used for writing (page 4)

22

Index Bacon, Roger, 79

Champollion, Jean Fran�ois, 8-9, 20

Columbus, Christopher, 77

Coptic language, 8-9

Dead Sea Scrolls, 72-73, 27

Easter Island, 4-5, 7, 27

Egyptian alphabet, 3

Eyraud,Eugene,4,27

hieroglyphics, Egyptian, 9

hieroglyphs, Egyptian, 8-9

Indus Valley seals, 6-7, 20

Masson, Charles, 6-7

Mayan civilization, 70-77, 27

monks, 78

Rohonczi Codex, 74-75, 20

Rongorongo glyphs, 4-5, 27

Rosetta Stone, 8-9, 20

Voynich Manuscript, 76-79, 27

23

Comprehension Check Summarize Use an Author's Perspective

Chart to help you summarize the

book. Why does the author think

it's important to try to decipher

ancient languages?

Think and Compare

Clues -I-

Author's Perspective

r.

1. Look at page 2 again. Why do you think the author

compares lost languages to a locked box without a key?

(Evaluate Author�s Perspective) 2. What language would you like to learn? Explain your

reasons. (Analyze/Evaluate) 3. Tell whether you believe the Rongorongo glyphs or the

Voynich Manuscript will ever be decoded. Explain your

answer. (Evaluate)

24

What will people thousands of years from now

know about the English language? Make a list of

the items you would place in a time capsule to

help them understand our language and culture.

Describe why you would include each item.

Learn more about Egyptian hieroglyphics or Mayan

glyphs. Then use the symbols from that language to

write one or more sentences. Share your sentences

with the class. How long does it take everyone to

decode them?