The Canaanites are said to have invented the alphabet at approximately 1800 BCE and were the first to use it before most other languages in the world did. But until now, archaeologists have never been able to decipher modern Canaanite inscriptions.
Recently, a stunning discovery revealed a whole Canaanite sentence from roughly 1700 BCE, or some 3,700 years ago. A press release says it is written on a little ivory comb and contains a lice-removal spell.
Lice Remover in an Elephant Tusk
Professors Yosef Garfinkel, Michael Hasel, and Martin Klingbeil led a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and Southern Adventist University in the US that discovered the comb in Israel close to Tel Lachish.
Dr. Daniel Vainstub, a Semitic epigrapher from Ben Gurion University, deciphered the inscription (BGU). After examining the ivory, professors Yuval Goren of BGU and Rivka Rabinovich of HU determined that the comb was made from an elephant tusk.
A Middle Bronze Age ivory lice comb,found during a 2016 excavation at Lachish in Israel, contains an inscription in early Canaanite script,according to epigrapher Dr. Daniel Vainstub.
— Ticia Verveer (@ticiaverveer) November 9, 2022
The 17th century BC inscription says “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard” pic.twitter.com/3989el0uQW
The letters of the inscription were carved quite shallowly. Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu didn't notice the letters until 2022 after post-processing although they were discovered in 2017.
The ivory comb is little, approximately 3.5 by 2.5 centimeters in size. The comb has teeth on both sides. The roots of the comb teeth may still be seen even though they were broken in antiquity.
There are 17 Canaanite letters on the comb. They are highly antiquated since they originate from the early phases of the alphabet script's development. The 17-letter phrase, per KATV, was as follows: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard."
Lice Common in The Past
The subject implies that lice problems were common during the period, and archaeologists claim to have even discovered microscopic traces of head lice on the comb.
The comb was discovered a few years ago at Tel Lachish, an ancient site in southern Israel. Still, an Israel's Hebrew University professor didn't discover the tiny phrases engraved on it until late last year.
The lead researcher, Garfinkel, said that while many artifacts bearing the Canaanite script have been found, this is the first complete sentence to have been discovered. Researchers published details of the findings in the Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology on Wednesday.
How Canaanites Spoke in the Past
The discovery also invites discussion of the prehistoric period, Garfinkel continued. Given the reference to the beard and the fact that the line was discovered on an ivory comb in the ancient city's palace and temple quarter, it is possible that only affluent men had access to written language.
The Canaanites lived in the regions bordering the eastern Mediterranean and spoke a prehistoric Semitic language linked to contemporary Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic. They are said to have created the first alphabet that is currently known.
"It is a very human text," Garfinkel said per Mirror. "It shows us that people didn't really change, and lice didn't really change," he added.
He said that by matching the writing to the ancient Canaanite alphabet discovered in Egypt's Sinai desert and dating to between 1900 BC and 1700 BC, scientists could date the script to 1700 BC.
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