The Greek alphabet may be older than we think
The Greek alphabet dates back to the eighth century BC. At least, that is what science assumed for a long time. Associate Professor Willemijn Waal is going to use a Vici grant to investigate whether the Greek alphabet may be centuries older, and was initially written only on perishable materials.
'Since the 1930s, the dominant discourse has been that of the alphabetic bang,' Waal explains. 'In the eighth century BC, the Greek alphabet as we know it today is said to have developed, spread and split off from nothing at lightning speed into other alphabets, such as the Anatolian or Italic alphabets. The latter, in turn, are the basis of the Latin script we still use today.'
Carbon dating
New finds and insights suggest that the Greek alphabet is older, having developed and spread at a much more gradual pace. A particularly interesting recent development is C14 or carbon dating—a method that looks at how many carbon-14 atoms are contained in organic material. The fewer the atoms, the older the material. These dates indicate that the earliest Greek inscriptions found on pottery are at least a century older than was thought; they do not date from the eighth century, but from the ninth or even tenth century BC. In addition, the oldest preserved inscriptions are most likely not the very first texts written down in the Greek alphabet. 'Alphabetic scripts are usually written on perishable materials such as papyrus, wood and paper. These materials are less able to withstand the test of time than clay tablets or texts carved in stone.'
If the Greek alphabet was in use much earlier, it means that there was no long ‘Dark Age’ without alphabetic writing of some 400 years in Greece. This insight sheds new light on literacy in the Aegean and may also influence how we view the tradition of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. 'Now it is generally assumed that these stories, which are situated in the late Bronze Age (c. 1600-1200 BC), were passed down orally for centuries until they were finally written down in the eighth century BC. But it is possible that this tradition was not strictly oral, and that writing may have played a role much earlier.'
Exciting
Waal is looking forward to the research she can now do, but also finds it a little unnerving. 'The idea that both the Greek alphabet and Homer date from the eighth century BC has been around for almost a hundred years and is widely accepted. I am now questioning this knowledge, and that will undoubtedly meet with some resistance. But new insights are also precisely what makes science fun; you never stop learning.'