Origin from 1800 BCE
Cretan Hieroglyphs is an undeciphered writing system from Bronze Age Crete, used during the Minoan period and found mainly at Knossos, Malia and Petras. It appears on clay documents, on sealings and on engraved seals, and it predates Linear A by about a century, and the two were used in parallel for most of their history. The standard modern corpus is the Corpus Hieroglyphicarum Inscriptionum Cretae of 1996, whose sign list counts 96 syllabograms, ten of which also work as logograms, plus numerals, fractions and punctuation. The name comes from Arthur Evans, who thought some signs resembled Egyptian hieroglyphs, a resemblance later judged illusory. Scholars still debate its origin, its relation to Linear A and whether purely pictorial seal motifs should count as signs.
Facts
In Use Since (Year) Directionality (class) Classification
Script Status Connections
Is Of Script Type
Source Mnamon, Scuola Normale Superiore: Mnamon: Cretan Hieroglyphic
Additional Source Cretan hieroglyphs (Wikipedia)Signs
Script Of
Source Minoan language (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Cretan hieroglyphs (Wikipedia)Lead, region of originQuote, Lead, region of origin
Cretan hieroglyphs are a hieroglyphic writing system used in early Bronze Age Crete, during the Minoan era.
Sources
1. Mnamon, Scuola Normale Superiore: Mnamon: Cretan Hieroglyphic
Mnamon, Scuola Normale SuperioreType of writing system
Cretan Hieroglyphic did not have a defined direction for writing.
Introduction
from the 18th to the 17th centuries BC
Introduction, script status
The Cretan Hieroglyphic script is a non-deciphered writing system
View the Source Cretan hieroglyphs (Wikipedia)
Lead
As of 2026, it is undeciphered.
Lead, region of origin
Cretan hieroglyphs are a hieroglyphic writing system used in early Bronze Age Crete, during the Minoan era.
Is Of Script Type: Logosyllabic Script, Signs
The glyph inventory in CHIC includes 96 syllabograms representing sounds, ten of which double as logograms, representing words or portions of words.
View the SourceMinoan language (Wikipedia)
Script Of: Minoan language, LeadQuote, Script Of: Minoan language, Lead
is the language (or languages) of the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete written in the Cretan hieroglyphs and later in the Linear A syllabary
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.
View At A Past Year
Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.