Mysteries of the Past: Deciphering Ancient Languages

Have you ever wondered how scientists can read and understand languages that have been extinct for centuries?

Photo by AXP Photography on Unsplash

Imagine unlocking the secrets of a civilization that has been lost to time, reading texts that have been untouched for centuries, and finally understanding how people spoke and thought in a completely different era.

The task itself may seem daunting, but for many, it’s a thrilling puzzle to solve.

Just think about it: the Sumerian civilization died out in the 2nd millennium BCE, the last record in the classical ancient Egyptian language dates back to the 4th century CE, and most of the knowledge of the Maya was deliberately destroyed during the colonial period.

Still, scientists have found ways to decipher and understand them.

Traces of lost civilizations

To date, several dozen ancient languages have been successfully deciphered, such as Elamite, Hurrian, Hittite, Mycenaean, Old Chinese, Phoenician, and many more that have existed since the 2nd millennium BCE.

And while scientists may be able to read and translate ancient texts, they usually do not have a complete understanding of the language and its…