Standard archaeology claims that writing was not invented till a while between 3000 and 4000 BC in Sumeria. Nevertheless, the invention of a far older artifact in northern Greece seems to contradict this perception. Though the potential of a beforehand unknown writing system through the Neolithic is an thrilling prospect, why is it that so few folks learn about this discovery?

Respiratory Life into Dispilio

Found again in 1993 by George Xourmouziadis, a professor of prehistoric archaeology, the Dispilio pill was unearthed throughout excavations of a Neolithic lake settlement close to town of Kastoria in northern Greece. This historical settlement was truly found again in 1932 throughout a dry winter when the water ranges of Lake Kastoria have been significantly low.

The positioning itself was occupied for a lot of tons of of years from about 7,000 to eight,000 years in the past. The excavations unearthed a number of artifacts together with instruments, pottery, collectible figurines and different private ornaments. These have allowed archaeologists to piece collectively an image of the financial and agricultural actions of the settlement, in addition to proof of animal breeding and their dietary preferences.

Dispilio in Greece is a prehistoric lakeside settlement and the situation the place the Dispilio pill was discovered. ( Iraklis Milas / Adobe Inventory)

Relationship the Dispilio Pill

The Dispilio pill was one in all many artifacts discovered within the space. Nevertheless, the significance of the desk lies in the truth that it was engraved with an unknown written textual content that goes again additional than 5,000 BC. Researchers have used radiocarbon dating to pinpoint the date of the wood pill to about 5,260 BC, which might make it considerably older than the writing system utilized by the Sumerians.

The text on the pill features a kind of engraved writing which most likely consists of a type of writing that pre-existed  Linear B writing utilized by the Mycenaean Greeks . In addition to the pill, many different ceramic items have been discovered that even have the identical kind of writing on them.

Samples of the carved indicators on the wood Dispilio pill and different clay finds found on the website (a) as in comparison with Linear A indicators (b) and indicators discovered on Paleo European clay tablets (c). (Yorgos Facorellis / CC BY 3.0 )

Deciphering the Dispilio Pill

The truth that this wood pill was hidden on the backside of the lake for therefore lengthy and remained preserved so a few years later is spectacular in and of itself. Sadly, by the point the pill had been excavated and faraway from its authentic setting, contact with oxygen began the deterioration course of and it’s now beneath preservation.

To this point, the traditional writing system evidenced by the indicators and inscriptions on the Dispilio pill haven’t been deciphered, and decoding the writing goes to be tough if not inconceivable, except an acceptable ‘ Rosetta stone ’ is discovered. Nonetheless, Professor Xourmouziadis recommended that it may signify a type of communication and will imply something, together with some form of historical stock of possessions.

One of the vital important discoveries in historical past, the Rosetta Stone allowed researchers to decipher historical Egyptian hieroglyphs. (British Museum /  CC BY NC SA 4.0  )

Dispilio Pill and the Historical past of Writing

Sumerian cuneiform has gone down in historical past because the oldest type of writing. As defined in Greek Reporter , some students have questioned the ensuing principle which claims that the traditional Greeks realized to put in writing about 800 BC because of contact with the Phoenicians. They’re unconvinced by the truth that the composition of literary works resembling the traditional Homeric poems coincides with their supposed acquisition of writing expertise.

“It might be inconceivable for the traditional Greeks to put in writing these poetic works with out having had a historical past of writing of a minimum of 10,000 years,” explains Greek Reporter . So, what this implies is that Sumerian writing is definitely the earliest writing system to have been found thus far and the invention of the Dispilio pill, an artifact engraved with what seems to be a pre-Sumerian writing system , will undoubtedly not be the final discover of its sort.

Standard historical past dictates that these sorts of Neolithic discoveries are merely proof of proto-writing, a time period which refers to a method of speaking restricted data, fairly than proof of a complete language. However ought to further artifacts akin to the Dispilio pill emerge, they may utterly change the history of writing , and with it the story of humanity.

Prime picture: Mannequin replica of the Dispilio pill on the prehistoric lakeside settlement of Dispilio in northern Greece. Supply: Мико / CC BY-SA 4.0

By John Black