Hittite-Luvian Bilingualism and the Development of Anatolian Hieroglyphs

visibility

3.47K

views

Abstract

Contrary to the view according to which the Anatolian hieroglyphs were invented in a Luvian-speaking area and secondarily bowwoed by the Hittites, I am arguing that they gradually developed in the Hittite and Luvian bilingual environment, perhaps in the Hittite capital Hattusa, as a means of nationalistic self-expression

Key takeaways

AI generated

The Anatolian hieroglyphic script evolved in a bilingual Hittite-Luvian environment, primarily in Hattusa.
This study challenges previous views, asserting the script's development was a Hittite initiative for national identity.
The script transitioned through four developmental stages, culminating in a functional phonetic system by the Early New Kingdom.
Stage IV established a clear link between the hieroglyphic script and Luvian language, evidenced by monumental inscriptions.
The socio-political context in Hattusa facilitated the adoption of hieroglyphs for public expression beyond elite scribes.

FAQ's

AI generated

What explains the sociolinguistic landscape of the Hittite capital?add

The research indicates Luvian was spoken alongside Hittite in Hattusa, influencing the hieroglyphic script's development.

How did Luvian grammatically influence Hittite hieroglyphs?add

Luvian lexical borrowings and phonetic derivation shaped the syllabograms, reflecting shared linguistic heritage.

When did the association between the hieroglyphic script and Luvian begin?add

By the end of the Hittite Empire period, the hieroglyphic script was predominantly linked to Luvian.

What role did pictographic elements play in the hieroglyphic script's evolution?add

Early pictograms gradually evolved into logographic signs, reflecting divine attributes and complex semantic layers by the Old Kingdom.

Why was the Anatolian hieroglyphic script prioritized over cuneiform?add

This shift was primarily motivated by nationalistic concerns, enhancing socio-political identity amidst a bilingual environment.

Figures

In seven cases, the values of Bronze Age syllabograms can be acrophonically derived from Luvian, but not from Hittite lexemes. The probative value of examples cited in Table 3 below is, again, not uniform. Only the first three cases can be seen as assured, whereas the signs in the shaded part of the tablet can be explained from Luvian only under certain assumptions. The derivation of L 376, discussed above in this section, depends on the existence of its logographic value HIC, which is likely but not absolutely certain. In the case of L 319, the suggested explanation is based on the graphic shape of this sign, which resembles an upward-pointing arrow, and on its vague resemblance to L 270 = SUPER. In the case of L 389, the contrast between Hitt. teri- and

But the largest group of examples, summarized in Table 4, comprises those cases where a given sign can be equally well derived from via Hittite and via Luvian. For example, both Hitt. pai-/piya- ‘give’ and Luv. piya- ‘id.’ could motivate the value <pi> of L 66, graphically a giving hand.* In fact, one need not choose between these two options because the person responsible for introducing the new syllabogram could be bilingual in Hittite and Luvian.

It is insctructive to contrast the data collected in Tables 2-4 with a group of signs that acquired syllabographic values only in the first millennium BC. In this late period, when the Hittite language was probably extinct and almost certainly not spoken in the epigraphic community responsible for the production of Luvian hieroglyphic texts. we do not expect the Hittite-based acrophony to play any derivation of! new syllabograms. And indeed, all of the sound values listed in Table 5 can be accounted for through the analysis of Luvian lexemes. The only potentially problematic case is that of L347 = <hu>, for which Neumanr 1992 suggests an acrophonic derivation based on Hitt. huppar ‘pot, bowl. keg’. Yet if Luv. huppart(i)- ‘pelvis’ is indeed derived from the same root, as per Melchert 2003: 196, it is quite likely that the base noun with the meaning ‘bowl’ also existed in Luvian, but is simply not attested in the available texts.

1 of 30

Download research papers for free!

References (55)

Alp 1968 -Sedat Alp. Zylinder-und Stempelsiegel aus Karahöyük bei Konya. TTKY V/26. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.

Beckman 2003 -Gary Beckman. Gilgamesh in Hatti // Hittite Studies in Honor of Harry A. Hoffner Jr. on the Occasion of his 65 th Birthday. Ed. G. Beckman et al. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns. P. 37-57.

Boehmer, Güterbock 1987 -Rainer M. Boehmer, Hans G.Güterbock. Glyptik aus dem Stadtgebiet von Boğazköy. BoHa 14. Berlin: Mann.

Bossert 1954 -Helmuth Th. Bossert. Das hethitische Felsrelief bei Hanyeri (Gezbeli) // Orientalia 23: 129-47.

Börker-Klähn -Jutta Börker-Klähn. Archäologische Anmerkungen zum Alter des Bild-Luwischen //Atti del II Congresso Internazionale di Hittitologia. Ed. O. Carruba et al. Studia Mediterranea 9. Pavia: Gianni Iuculano. P. 39- 55. Bryce 2005 -Trevor Bryce. The Kingdom of the Hittites. New Edition. OUP.

Darga, Starke 2003 -Muhibbe Darga, Frank Starke. Eine Tonbulle mit hieroglypen-luwischem Siegelabdruck aus Şarhöyük-Dorylaion // Studia Troica 13: 161-64.

Carruba 1974 -Onofrio Carruba. Tahurwaili von Hatti und die hethitische Geschichte um 1500 v. Chr. // Anatolian Studies Presented to Hans Gustav Güterbock on the Occasion of his 65 th Birthday. Ed. K Bittel et al. PIHANS 35. P. 73-93.

Ehringhaus 2005 -Horst Ehringhaus. Götter, Herrscher, Inschriften. Die Felsreliefs der Hethitischen Grossreichzeit in der Türkei. In collaboration with F. Starke. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.

Gignoux 1978 -Philippe Gignoux. Catalogue des sceaux, camées et bulles sasanides de la Bibliothèque Nationale et du Musée du Louvre. Paris. Goedegebuure, forthcoming -Petra Goedegebuure. The Cuneiform Luvian Adverb zanda 'together, down' // Proceedings of the VIIth International Congress of Hittitology (Çorum, Turkey, 2008). Ed. A. Süel. Güterbock 1956a -Hans G. Güterbock. Notes on Luvian Studies. (A propos B. Rozenkranz's Book Beiträge zur Erforschung des Luvischen) // Orientalia 25: 113-40.

Güterbock 1956b -Hans G. Güterbock. Review of Die Welt der Hethiter by Margarete Riemschneider (Stuttgart: G. Kilpper, 1954). OLZ (1956): 512- 522. Güterbock 1998 -Hans G. Güterbock. Notes on Some Luwian Hieroglyphs // Mír Curad: Studies in Honor of Calvert Watkins / Ed. J. Jasanoff et al. Innsbruck: Inst. der Sprachwissenschaft der Univ. Innsbruck. P. 201-04.

Güterbock, Alexander 1983 -Hans G. Güterbock, Robert L. Alexander. The second inscription on Mount Sipylus // Anatolian Studies 33: 29-32.

Hackett 2004 -Ann Hackett. Phoenician and Punic // The Cambridge Encyclo- pedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Ed. R. Woodard. CUP. P. 365-85.

Hawkins 1986 -J. David Hawkins. Writing in Anatolia: Imported and Indige- nous Systems // World Archaeology 17/3: 363-74.

Hawkins 1995 -J. David Hawkins. The Hieroglyphic Inscription of the Sacred Pool Complex at Hattisa (SÜDBURG). StBoT, Beiheft 3. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Hawkins 1997 -J. David Hawkins. A Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscription on a Silver Bowl in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara // Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi. 1996 Yıllığı: 7-22.

Hawkins 1998 -J. David Hawkins. Tarkasnawa King of Mira, 'Tarkondemos', Boğazköy sealings and Karabel // Anatolian Studies 48: 1-31.

Hawkins 2000 -J. David Hawkins. Corpus of Hieroglyphic Luvian Inscriptions. Volume I. Part I, II: Texts; Part III: Plates. Berlin-New York: W. de Gruyter.

Hawkins 2003 -J. David Hawkins. Scripts and Texts // The Luvians / Ed. C. Melchert. HdO 1/68. Leiden-Boston: Brill. Pp. 128-69.

Hawkins 2005 -J. David Hawkins. A Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscription on a Silver Bowl // Studia Troica 15: 193-204 (reprint of Hawkins 1997 with additions and corrections).

Hawkins, Morpurgo-Davies 1998 -J. David Hawkins, Anna Morpurgo-Davies. On Donkeys, Mules, and Tarkondemos // Mír Curad: Studies in Honor of Calvert Watkins / Ed. J. Jasanoff et al. Innsbruck: Institut der Sprachwissen- schaft der Universität Innsbruck. P. 243-60.

Herbordt 2005 -Suzanne Herbordt. Die Prinzen-und Beamtensiegel der hethitischen Grossreichszeit auf Tonbullen aus dem Nişantepe-Archiv in Hattusa. BoHa 19. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern.

Van den Hout 2006 -Theo Van den Hout. Institutions, Vernaculars, Publics: the Case of Second-Millenium Anatolia // Margins of Writing, Origins of Cultures. Ed. S. Sanders. Chicago: Oriental Institute. Pp. 217-56.

Van den Hout, forthcoming -Theo Van den Hout. Reflections on the Origins and Development of the Hittite Tablet Collection in Hattuša and Their Consequences for the Rise of Hittite Literacy. To appear in conference proceedings. Houwink ten Cate 1992 -Philo H. J. Houwink ten Cate. The Bronze Tablet of Tudhaliyas IV and its Geographical and Historical Relations // Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 82: 233-70.

Kloekhorst 2007 -Alwin Kloekhorst. Etymological Dictionary of the Hittite Inherited Lexicon. Leiden: Brill.

Laroche 1969 -Emmanuel Laroche. Les hiéroglyphes hittites. Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Latacz 2004 -Joachim Latacz. Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery. Transl. K. Windle and R. Ireland. Oxford University Press.

Marazzi 1994 -Massimiliano Marazzi. Ma gli Hittiti scrivevano veramente su "legno"? // Miscellanea di studi linguistici in onore di Walter Belardi / Ed. P. Cipriano et al. Rome: Calamo. P. 131-60.

Melchert 1987 -H. Craig Melchert. Studies in Memory of Warren Cowgill (1929-1985) // Ed. C. Watkins. Berlin-New York: Walter de Gruyter. P. 182-204.

Melchert 1993 -H. Craig Melchert. Cuneiform Luvian Lexicon. Chapel Hill: self-published.

Melchert 1994 -H. Craig Melchert. Anatolian Historical Phonology. Amsterdam: Rodopi.

Melchert 1999 -H. Craig Melchert. Hittite karzan-'basket of wool' // Studi e Testi II. Ed S. de Martino and F. Imparati. Eothen 10. P. 121-32.

Melchert 2003 -H. Craig Melchert. Language // The Luvians / Ed. C. Melchert. HdO 1/68. Leiden-Boston: Brill. Pp. 170-210.

Melchert 2005 -H. Craig Melchert. The Problem of Luvian Influence of Hittite // Sprachkontakt und Sprachwandel. Akten der XI. Fachtagung der Indo- germanischen Gesellschaft, 17.-23. September 2000, Halle an der Saale. Wiesbaden: Reichert. Pp. 445-59.

Miller 2004 -Jared Miller. Studies in the Origins, Development and Interpre- tation of the Kizzuwatna Rituals. StBoT 46. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004.

Mora 1987 -Clelia Mora. La glittica anatolica del II millennio A.C: Classifica- zione tipologica. Studia Mediterranea 6. Pavia: Gianni Iuculano.

Mora 1991 -Clelia Mora. Sull'origine della scrittura geroglifica anatolica // Kadmos 30: 1-28.

Mora 2007 -Clelia Mora. Three Metal Bowls // Vita: Festschrift in Honor of Belkıs Dinçol and Ali Dinçol. Istanbul: Ege Yayınları. P. 515-20.

Morpurgo-Davies 1987 -Anna Morpurgo-Davies. "To put" and "to stand" in the Luwian Languages // Studies in Memory of Warren Cowgill (1929- 1985)

/ Ed. C. Watkins. Berlin-New York: Walter de Gruyter. P. 205-28.

Mouton 2002 -Alice Mouton. Glyptique cappadocienne et hieroglyphes anatoliens // SMEA 44/1: 83-113.

Neu, Rüster 1989 -Erich Neu, Christel Rüster. Hethitisches Zeichenlexicon: Inventar und Interpretation der Keilschriftzeichen aus den Boğazköy-texten.

StBoT, Beiheft 2. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

Neumann 1992 -Günter Neumann. System und Aufbau der hethitischen Hieroglyphenschrift // Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, philologisch-historische Klasse (1992/4): 25-48

Oettinger 1979 -Norbert Oettinger. Die Stammbildung des Hethitischen Verbums. Nürnberg: H. Karl.

Otten 2000 -Heinrich Otten. Ein Siegelabdruck Duthalijaš I // Archäologischer Anzeiger (2000): 375-76.

Parpola 1983 -Simo Parpola. Assyrian Library Records // JNES 42/1: 1-29.

Peschlow-Bindokat 2002 -Anneliese Peschlow-Bindokat. Die Hethiter im Latmos. Eine hethitisch-luwische Hieroglyphen-Inschrift am Suratkaya (Beşparmak/Westtürkei) // Antike Welt 33/2: 211-15.

Rieken 2006 -Elisabeth Rieken. Zum hethitisch-luwischen Sprachkontact in historischer Zeit // Altorientalische Forschungen 33: 271-85.

Rieken 2007 -Elisabeth Rieken. Die Zeichen <ta>, <tá> und <tà> in den hieroglyphen-luwischen Inschriften der Nachgroßreichszeit // SMEA 49/2: 637-48.

Schachner, Meriç -Andreas Schachner, Recep Meriç. Ein Stempelsiegel des späten zweiten Yahrtausend v. Chr. aus Metropolis in Ionien // SMEA 42/1: 85-102.

Schmitt, Rüdiger. 1991. The Bisitun Inscription of Darius the Great: Old Persian Text. Corpus Inscriptionum Iranicarum 1.1.1. London: School of Oriental and African Studies.

Symington 1991 -Dorit Symington. Late Bronze Age Writing Boards and Their Uses: Textual Evidence from Anatolia and Syria // Anatolian Studies 41: 111-23.

Tischler 1990 -Johann Tischler. Hethitisches Etymologisches Glossar. Lieferungen 5-6 (L-M). Innsbruck: Institut der Sprachwissenschaft der Universität Innsbruck.

Uchitel' 2005 -Alexander Uchitel'. Assignment of personnel to cultic households in Mycenean Greece and the Hittite Empire. (PY TN 316 and KBo XVI.65) // Kadmos 44: 51-69.

Ünal, Ertekin, Ediz 1991 -Ahmet Ünal, A. Ertekin, and I. Ediz. The Hittite Sword from Boghazköy-Hattusa, found in 1991 and its Akkadian inscription // Museum 4: 46-52.