Linear writing is writing which uses symbols made up out of lines. Arguably, this could also refer to the arrangement of the symbols on the written page, as most written texts appear in ranks of parallel lines.
The term linear writing is used to characterize a particular writing system and to distinguish it from non-linear writing, which is not made up of lines.
The first examples of structured linear writing have been found in the lower Danube Valley and date from around 5000 BC. The first examples of Sumerian writing in Mesopotamia date from around 4000 BC.
Linear A, Linear B. At first, the Minoans were using a kind of writing which was similar to the hieroglyphics of Egypt.
Linearwriting was invented, because they wanted to have the linear representation of the object and not its image.
We understood the way of writing the Greek hieroglyphics, Linear A and Linear B, when the Greek newspaper “Kyriakatiki Kathimerini” published an article, which included the text and the translation of the hieroglyphic inscription that is on the smaller ring of the two rings from the Aedonia treasure.
Linear B was deciphered by Michael Ventris in 1952, and shown to be used for writing a very early form of Greek.
Linear B evidently represents a borrowing from the Minoan civilization of Crete, which was written in a syllabary called Linear A. The Minoan language is unknown and the Linear A inscriptions untranslated, although there is enough similarity between Linear A and Linear B that some of the syllabic values can be inferred.
Linear B does not appear until after the collapse of Minoan civilization following the catastrophic eruption of the volcanic island Thera, and it was used primarily for lists of goods.
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