Every ancient language successfully deciphered so far has relied on an anchor, such as a bilingual text like the Rosetta Stone or a known related language. Linear A, the writing system of Crete's Bronze Age Minoan civilization, has neither, making it a language isolate that has puzzled linguists for a century.
Etruscan has fared only slightly better, with a partial vocabulary from funerary inscriptions but its grammar and deeper meaning still unknown. The article examines how artificial intelligence might be applied to these enduring linguistic mysteries.
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