O Canaanitesinhabitants of the region and civilization of Canaan (located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River), invented one of the first alphabets known around 1800 BC. C., but so far no very significant inscriptions have been discovered.
This week, however, a group of Israeli archaeologists reports on Jerusalem Journal of Archeology. of the discovery of a small ivory comb of 1700 BC🇧🇷 where the first known complete sentence in Canaanite is written. Its text refers to the object’s function: “May this prey kill the lice in the hair and beard.”
Although this lice comb was found in 2017 in Tel Lachish website (Israel), the engraved letters were identified during further processing this year, according to the study.
The discovery was made by a team led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HU) and the inscription was deciphered by the Semitic epigraph Daniel Vainstub from Ben Gurion University.
The inscription is direct evidence of the use of the alphabet in everyday activities some 3,700 years ago and “is a milestone in the history of the human ability to write,” says another of the signers, Joseph Garfinkelof HU.
The comb measures approx. 3.5 by 2.5 centimeters and the bases of the horns are visible at both ends, but these were broken in antiquity. The central part is slightly eroded, possibly from finger pressure when holding it during hair care or head or beard lice removal.
17 letters and seven words
In this ivory utensil there are 17 Canaanite letters, which form seven words that today can be translated with the phrase “May this prey kill the lice in the hair and beard”, superficially engraved and written in an archaic way, from the first phase of the invention of alphabetic writing🇧🇷
Drawing of the inscription on the comb for lice. / Daniel Vainstub et al./Jerusalem Journal of Archeology
The recorder’s ability to successfully run a such small letters (1 to 3 millimeters broad) is a fact that must henceforth be taken into account in any attempt to summarize and draw conclusions about literacy in Canaan in the bronze agethe authors point out.
The inscription has “very special features, some of which are unique and fill gaps and gaps in our knowledge of many aspects of Canaanite culture,” the researchers point out, noting that, for the first time, a complete verb phrase written in the dialect spoken by the Canaanite inhabitants of the ancient city of Lachish.
14 and 6 tooth comb
The comb had six thick ends on one side to untangle hair tangles and fourteen fine ends on the other, which were used to remove lice and nits.
Relative to ivory, it was a very expensive material, so it was likely an imported luxury item, perhaps from neighboring Egypt, indicating that even people of high social status suffered from lice.
The inscription sheds light on some aspects of daily life at the time, until then little attested, and it is the first discovery in the region of an inscription that refers to the purpose of the object on which it was written, unlike the dedication or property inscriptions in the objects.
The researchers also tested the comb for presence of lice and found remains of 0.5 to 0.6 millimeters. The climatic conditions of Laquis did not allow to preserve the whole insects, but only the outer membrane of the nit phase.
Location of Tel Lachish (Israel). / Oren Rosen