Every ancient language successfully deciphered so far has depended on a key, such as a bilingual artifact like the Rosetta Stone or a known related language. Linear A, used by the Bronze Age Minoan civilization on Crete, has neither, making it a language isolate that has defied linguists for over a century.
Etruscan, an Italian language predating the Roman Empire, has fared only slightly better, with only a partial vocabulary from funerary inscriptions understood. The article examines whether artificial intelligence can help unlock the grammar and deeper meaning of these mysterious lost languages.
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