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Southwest Paleohispanic script
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<h2 id="name-of-the-script">Name of the script</h2> <p>The name of this script is controversial.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> The more neutral term is "southwestern," as it refers solely to the geographic location.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Some <a href="/facts/Ethnolinguistic/Ikz6zl3w">ethnolinguistic</a> names given to this script include: </p> <ul><li>Tartessian, as it is considered to be the script of the language spoken in <a href="/facts/Tartessos/CU7skmck">Tartessos</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> However, this is deemed unlikely by some scholars, as only four of the hundred known inscriptions have been found within Tartessos area of influence.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>South Lusitanian, because almost all of the southwest inscriptions have been discovered in the south of Portugal, an area that was included in the Roman province of <a href="/facts/Lusitania/oF5tx1MN">Lusitania</a>. However, this name may incorrectly suggest a relationship with the <a href="/facts/Lusitanian_language/l4Sg6BQK">Lusitanian language</a>.</li> <li>Conii script, as <a href="/facts/Ancient_Greece/PTVBrWXq">Greek</a> and <a href="/facts/Ancient_Rome/cGqIuxPd">Roman</a> sources locate the <a href="/facts/Pre-Roman_peoples_of_the_Iberian_Peninsula/6g8u1kLf">Roman</a> <a href="/facts/Conii/y584BfGT">Conii</a> or <a href="/facts/Cynetes/y584BfGT">Cynetes</a> in the area where most stelae were found.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Bastuli/dS046fVw">Bastulo</a>-<a href="/facts/Turdetani/VRxYFlQn">Turdetanian</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="deciphering-strategies">Deciphering strategies</h2> <p>Unlike the <a href="/facts/Northeastern_Iberian_script/DGv6w0Wc">northeastern Iberian script</a>, the decipherment of the southwestern script is not yet complete (as is the case with the <a href="/facts/Southeastern_Iberian_script/1Q3gLEg9">southeastern Iberian script</a>).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> The two main approaches to deciphering the phonetic value of the letters have been: </p> <ul><li>Comparative approach:This involves searching for similar letters in the southwestern script and the <a href="/facts/Phoenician_alphabet/Vr4smuYg">Phoenician alphabet</a>, as well as other <a href="/facts/Paleohispanic_scripts/aXqoBrvv">Paleohispanic scripts</a> (namely the northeastern and southeastern scripts). The phonetic values are then compared. If a letter appears to be of Phoenician origin and has a similar phonetic value in both Phoenician and other Paleohispanic scripts, that phonetic value is assumed to be the same in the southwestern script.</li> <li>Internal analysis: This approach focuses on aspects of the language itself, such as the frequency of letters and their relationships to one another.</li></ul> <p>If the two approaches yield consistent results, the letter is considered deciphered; if not, it is deemed hypothetical.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> As of 2014, 20 letters are considered consensual (including all 5 vowels, 10 stops, and 5 non-stops), while all others (more than 10) remain hypothetical.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> The three main hypotheses regarding the script's decipherment are those of Correa (2009), de Hoz (2010), and Ramos (2002).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>Because the phonetic decipherment stage is not finished, it is difficult to establish what language the script represents.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> Some have suggested a <a href="/facts/Celtic_languages/edRrGrMF">Celtic</a> origin, but this idea is not widely accepted.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> If this hypothesis is correct, the language represented by the Southwest script would be the first Celtic language to be written.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> Other main hypotheses propose that the language is <a href="/facts/Iberian_language/vRQrW9PJ">Iberian</a> (or possibly non-<a href="/facts/Indo-European_languages/L34TfgSr">Indo-European</a>) and that it has Celtic influence but originates from an Iberian language.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="writing-system">Writing system</h2> <p>Except for the <a href="/facts/Greco-Iberian_alphabet/pdTtCxBb">Greco-Iberian alphabet</a>, and to a lesser extent this script, <a href="/facts/Paleohispanic_scripts/aXqoBrvv">Paleohispanic scripts</a> shared a distinctive typology: they functioned as a <a href="/facts/Syllabary/GCbFXaJ4">syllabary</a> for <a href="/facts/Stop_consonants/okC9pztc">stop consonants</a> and as an <a href="/facts/Alphabet/vqfRpS3E">alphabet</a> for the remaining consonants and vowels. This unique <a href="/facts/Writing_system/ABG251A0">writing system</a> is referred to as a <a href="/facts/Semi-syllabary/LdHFRxdP">semi-syllabary</a>. </p><p>There is no consensus on how the Paleohispanic semi-syllabaries originated; it is generally agreed that their origin is linked to the <a href="/facts/Phoenician_alphabet/Vr4smuYg">Phoenician alphabet</a>,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> although some believe the <a href="/facts/Greek_alphabet/1cHwB8Dg">Greek alphabet</a> also had an influence. In the southwestern script, the letter used to represent a stop consonant was determined by the following vowel, similar to a full semi-syllabary, while the following vowel was also written, as in an alphabet. A similar convention is found in <a href="/facts/Etruscan_language/WjW6Ff0T">Etruscan</a> for /k/, which was written as "ka," "ce," "ci," or "qu," depending on the following vowel. Some scholars treat <a href="/facts/Tartessian_language/K6p1v8YS">Tartessian</a> as a redundant semi-syllabary, while others consider it a redundant alphabet. </p><p>The southwestern script is very similar to the <a href="/facts/Southeastern_Iberian_script/1Q3gLEg9">southeastern Iberian script</a> in terms of both the shape of the signs and their values. The main difference is that the southeastern Iberian script does not exhibit the vocalic redundancy of the syllabic signs.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> This characteristic, discovered by Ulrich Schmoll, allows for the classification of a significant portion of the southwestern signs into <a href="/facts/Vowels/BNhCeFtH">vowels</a>, <a href="/facts/Consonants/81X2SGS6">consonants</a>, and <a href="/facts/Syllabic/kKxGd6Fl">syllabic</a> signs. </p> <h2 id="inscriptions">Inscriptions</h2> <p>This script is almost exclusively found on nearly a hundred large stones (<a href="/facts/Steles/TECCpFvv">steles</a>), of which 10 were lost as of 2014.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a> Most of these steles were discovered in modern-day Portugal, particularly in <a href="/facts/Baixo_Alentejo_(intermunicipal_community)/bIPspFMp">Baixo Alentejo</a>, although some have been found in Spain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> Sixteen of these steles can be seen in the Southwest Script Museum (Museu da Escrita do Sudoeste, in <a href="/facts/Portuguese_language/vr3Fwzw3">Portuguese</a>) in <a href="/facts/Almod%C3%B4var/UxG4PswT">Almodôvar</a>, Portugal, where a stele featuring a total of 86 characters (the longest inscription found so far), discovered in 2008, is also on display.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a> </p><p>The inscriptions likely had a funerary purpose, although the lack of well-documented archaeological contexts for the findings makes it difficult to be certain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> This same factor prevents the establishment of a precise chronology, but the script is generally placed within the <a href="/facts/Iron_Age_Europe/WnvERtpx">Iron Age</a>, roughly between the 8th and 6th centuries BCE.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> It is commonly considered that the southwestern script is the most ancient of the Paleohispanic scripts. The direction of writing is usually from right to left, but it can also be <a href="/facts/Boustrophedon/pfqxtPj7">boustrophedon</a> or <a href="/facts/Spiral/4R331aba">spiral</a>. </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Paleohispanic_scripts/aXqoBrvv">Paleohispanic scripts</a> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Espanca_script/IYxwkdIs">Espanca script</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/facts/Pre-Roman_peoples_of_the_Iberian_Peninsula/6g8u1kLf">Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Prehistoric_Iberia/bLz6kPI5">Prehistoric Iberia</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Timeline_of_Portuguese_history/9IhCDYkw">Timeline of Portuguese history</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Saefs/TNJoeWRI">Cempsi and Saefs</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Celtici/1uRk6xyo">Celtici</a></li></ul> <h2 id="notes">Notes</h2> <ul><li>Correa, José Antonio (1996): «La epigrafía del sudoeste: estado de la cuestión», <i>La Hispania prerromana</i>, pp. 65–75.</li> <li>Correia, Virgílio-Hipólito (1996): «A escrita pré-romana do Sudoeste peninsular», <i>De Ulisses a Viriato: o primeiro milenio a.c.</i>, pp. 88–94.</li> <li>Ferrer i Jané, Joan (2016): <a href="https://www.academia.edu/13085922/Una_aproximaci%C3%B3_quantitativa_a_l_an%C3%A0lisi_de_l_escriptura_del_sud-oest">«Una aproximació quantitativa a l’anàlisi de l’escriptura del sud-oest»</a>, <i>Palaeohispanica</i> 16, pp. 39–79.</li> <li>Guerra, Amilcar (2002): <a href="http://www.ipa.min-cultura.pt/pubs/RPA/v5n2/folder/219.pdf">«Novos monumentos epigrafados com escrita do Sudoeste da vertente setentrional da Serra do Caldeirao»</a> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070927050551/http://www.ipa.min-cultura.pt/pubs/RPA/v5n2/folder/219.pdf">Archived</a> 2007-09-27 at the <a href="/facts/Wayback_Machine/nmQ3a6JC">Wayback Machine</a>, <i>Revista portuguesa de arqueologia</i> 5–2, pp. 219–231.</li> <li>Hoz, Javier de (1985): «El origen de la escritura del S.O.», <i>Actas del III coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas paleohispánicas</i>, pp. 423–464.</li> <li>Koch J.T. Tartessian. Celtic in the South-West at the Dawn of History. Aberystwyth, 2009.</li> <li>Koch J. T., B. Cunliffe (eds.). Celtic from the West 2. Rethinking the Bronze Age and the Arrival of Indo-European in Atlantic Europe. Oxford / Oakville: Oxbow books, 2013.</li> <li>Rodríguez Ramos, Jesús (2000): <a href="http://ddd.uab.cat/pub/faventia/02107570v22n1p21.pdf">«La lectura de las inscripciones sudlusitano-tartesias»</a>[<i>permanent dead link</i>], <i>Faventia</i> 22/1, pp. 21–48.</li> <li>Schmoll, Ulrich (1961) : <i>Die sudlusitanischen Inschriften</i>, Wiesbaden.</li> <li><a href="/facts/J%C3%BCrgen_Untermann/vH0KSCSc">Untermann, Jürgen</a> (1997): <i>Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum. IV Die tartessischen, keltiberischen und lusitanischen Inschriften</i>, Wiesbaden.</li> <li>Valério, Miguel (2008): <i>Origin and development of the Paleohispanic scripts: The Orthography and Phonology of the Southwestern Alphabet</i><a href="http://www.igespar.pt/media/uploads/revistaportuguesadearqueologia/11.2/5_6_7_8/06_p.107-138.pdf">[1]</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> <ul><li><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20050207202549/http://www.webpersonal.net/jrr/ib6_en.htm">Tartessian / South-Lusitanian Script - Jesús Rodríguez Ramos</a></li> <li><a href="https://cm-almodovar.pt/locais/museu-da-escrita-do-sudoeste//"><i>Museu da Escrita do Sudoeste Almodôvar</i> website</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/2500-year-old-slate-containing-drawings-of-battle-scenes-and-paleo-alphabet-discovered-in-spain">2,500-year-old slate containing drawings of battle scenes and paleo-alphabet discovered in Spain - LiveScience - 13 June 2024</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Koch, John T. (2014). "On the Debate over the Classification of the Language of the South-Western (SW) Inscriptions, also known as Tartessian". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 335–427. ProQuest 1628230270. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Koch, John T. (2014). "On the Debate over the Classification of the Language of the South-Western (SW) Inscriptions, also known as Tartessian". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 335–427. ProQuest 1628230270. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Koch, John T. (2014). "On the Debate over the Classification of the Language of the South-Western (SW) Inscriptions, also known as Tartessian". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 335–427. ProQuest 1628230270. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>Dias, Carlos (15 September 2008). "Descoberta perto de Almodôvar a mais extensa inscrição em escrita do sudoeste" [Discovery near Almodôvar the most extensive inscription in script in the southwest]. Público (in Portuguese). <a href="https://www.publico.pt/2008/09/15/jornal/descoberta-perto-de-almodovar-a-mais--extensa-inscricao-em-escrita-do-sudoeste-275983" target="_blank">https://www.publico.pt/2008/09/15/jornal/descoberta-perto-de-almodovar-a-mais--extensa-inscricao-em-escrita-do-sudoeste-275983</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"Experts trying to decipher ancient language". Retrieved 14 August 2016. <a href="http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/topic,16678.0.html" target="_blank">http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/topic,16678.0.html</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Experts aim to decipher ancient script 2,500-year-old writing found on stone tablets in Portugal". NBC News. March 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2016. <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29445240" target="_blank">https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29445240</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>Valério, Miguel (2014). "The Interpretative Limits of the Southwestern Script". The Journal of Indo-European Studies. 42 (3/4): 439–467. ProQuest 1628229756. <a href="/wiki/ProQuest" target="_blank">/wiki/ProQuest</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>