Lost Languages: The Enigma of the World's Undeciphered Scripts [Hardcover]

' It is a fascinating story, splendidly told....I simply could not bring myself to put it down'

'A masterly book. Andrew Robinson takes us on a fascinating journey... Clearly written, dispassionate and entertaining'

'Andrew Robinson has now followed up his beautifully illustrated 'The Story of Writing' with a highly appropriate sequel'

If you're a wanna be linguist, and perhaps the world's next Michael Ventris, you'll definitely want to read this book

Though much has been learned about the languages of lost cultures such as Ancient Egypt and the Mayans, there remain many scripts that have resisted modern efforts to decipher them. Lost Languages focuses on eight of the most famous examples, whose persistent inscrutability continues to torment would-be decipherers and keeps us from understanding the long-buried cultures they represent. With extraordinary depth and erudition, Robinson examines each of these mysterious scripts in up-to-the-latest detail, at the same time exploring the process of decipherment, and presenting the colorful cast of characters that are currently competing for the glory that cracking these ancient codes would bring. The Meroitic hieroglyphs of ancient Nubia, also known as the Kingdom of Kush; The Etruscan alphabet, which remained bizarrely isolated even as the Etruscans themselves were assimilated into Ancient Rome; Linear A, the script of the Minoan civilization before its conquest by the Greeks in the 15th century BC; The Zapotec Isthmian scripts, believed to be the earliest in the Americas; The Proto-Elamite script, from an ancient culture that thrived in what is now Iran; The Phaistos Disc, an enigmatic "printed" object dated to 1700 BC discovered in Crete in 1908, which some scholars believe is a fake; Rongorongo of Easter Island, which may or may not have been developed before the arrival of Europeans in 1770; The Indus script of ancient India, which appears in exquisitely carved but tantalizingly brief inscriptions; Generously illustrated with the scripts themselves and photos of the artifacts on which they are found, Lost Languages is a stunning package.

Maybe it's the possibility of "speaking with the dead," of hearing the voices of long-silent peoples and civilizations. Perhaps it's the puzzle solver's relish for the challenges posed by breaking codes. Whatever the reasons, undeciphered ancient scripts have long tantalized the public. Lost Languages investigates the most famous examples, leading us back to a far-distant past obscured by the ravages of time and haunted by code breakers hungry for glory.

The book begins with an incisive description of decipherment techniques and tells the stories of three great decipherments: Egyptian hieroglyphs in the 19th century and the Mayan glyphs of Central America and the Linear B clay tablets of the Minoan civilization of Crete in the 20th century. Then it tackles the important scripts still awaiting their decipherers.

Perhaps the greatest challenge today is the Indus script. Found on exquisitely beautiful seal stones, pottery, and copper tablets excavated in Pakistan and India, it is the only writing of the four "first" civilizations that cannot be read. Unraveled, it would not only break the millennia-long silence of the impressive Indus Valley civilization, it would also shed new light on the origins of the Indo-European ancestors of the modern West.

Then there are the Etruscans, who have spellbound the imagination ever since Renaissance times. Builders of sensational tombs and drinkers of wine, they were the cultural conduit through which the Greek alphabet reached Rome and hence the rest of Europe. And yet the language spoken by the Etruscans remains wrapped in mystery; if penetrated, it could reveal the history of a pre-Roman society almost as great as ancient Greece.

And on isolated Easter Island, the exotic Rongorongo script has long been an irresistible magnet for ambitious decipherers. Inscribed on wood with sharks' teeth and as enigmatic as the island's arresting stone faces, these texts are the only writing in pre-colonial Oceania. They definitely contain a lunar calendar and may tell the story of the origins of humankind in the Pacific Ocean. How old is Rongorongo? No one knows for sure.

The struggle to decipher these three scripts and six others­­including the notorious Phaistos disc of Crete (the world's first typewritten document, dated c. 1700 BC) and the Zapotec script of Mexico (the first writing system in the Americas)­­is recounted with extraordinary depth and erudition in this lavishly illustrated book. In Lost Languages, Robinson reports from the front lines of scholarship, where obsession, genius, occasional delusion, and sometimes bitter rivalry are de rigueur among the intriguing cast of modern characters who are currently competing for the rare honor of cracking these ancient codes­­and giving voice to forgotten worlds.

Praise for Lost Languages:

"A masterly book. Andrew Robinson takes us on a fascinating journey...Clearly written, dispassionate and entertaining, this archaeological and linguistic detective story will appeal to anyone interested in ancient civilizations and the intricacies of languages and scripts."­­Brian Fagan, Professor of Anthropology, University of California at Santa Barbara

"Andrew Robinson is a savvy and sure-footed Sherpa taking us just below the summits of the remaining Everests among the undeciphered scripts of the world... Lost Languages is written with the clarity of a Michael Ventris and with wise respect for fools and geniuses alike..."­­Thomas G. Palaima, Professor of Classics, Director, Program in Aegean Scripts and Prehistory, University of Texas at Austin

"With verve and insight, Andrew Robinson...does a great service to scholars and general readers with his lucid and valuable book."­­Stephen D. Houston, author of Maya Glyphs, Professor of Anthropology, Brigham Young University

"Andrew Robinson has forged a two-pronged goad to incite new interest in the recovery of mankind's forgotten past. [An] absorbing account."­­Asko Parpola, author of Deciphering the Indus Script, Professor of South Asian Studies, University of Helsinki

"...a real contribution to critical scholarship by someone who is in love with his subject."­­Philip W. Anderson, Nobel laureate, Professor of Physics, Princeton University

"...a fascinating story, splendidly told...I couldn't put it down."­­Sir Patrick Moore, Astronomer, presenter of the BBC's The Sky at Night, and author of more than 60 books

"Andrew Robinson has now followed up his beautifully illustrated The Story of Writing with a highly appropriate sequel­­Lost Languages, on undeciphered scripts. Many, it seems likely, will never be deciphered­­which raises an interesting question. If we cannot always understand messages from our fellow humans­­how successful will we be when we receive the first communication from Outer Space?"­­Sir Arthur C. Clarke

Andrew Robinson is currently Literary Editor of The Times Higher Education Supplement, London. He holds a science degree from Oxford University and a degree from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London, and was formerly on the staff of Macmillan Publishers, Granada Television and a leading independent television production company, Brian Lapping Associates. He has written articles and reviews for national newspapers in Britain, such as The Times, The Guardian, The Independent and The Daily Telegraph, as well as articles for The New York Times and many magazines.