Ancient tongues get AI boost as cryptic Linear A faces deciphering test

Exploring whether artificial intelligence can unlock the secrets of ancient languages, this story examines how machine learning analyzes inscriptions, patterns, and symbols. It weighs the promise of rapid breakthroughs against risks of misinterpretation.

Source

Down To Earth →

Quick Revision

Prelims-testable facts

01Ancient languages that have been deciphered typically required an anchor, such as a bilingual text or a known relative.
02The Rosetta Stone is an example of a bilingual text used to decipher ancient languages.
03Linear A is considered a 'language isolate' because it has no confirmed link to any known language.
04Etruscan, a language from Italy, has been partially deciphered but its grammar and deeper meaning remain unclear.
05A recent case showed that AI was used to test a human hypothesis against a Linear A corpus, resulting in the assignment of values to 40 signs.
06AI is particularly strong at large-scale pattern testing, which can check whether a hunch about one sign or word holds up across an entire archive.
07Cross-lingual transfer allows models trained on known languages to infer patterns in closely related unknown ones.

Trap alerts

Most people think AI can completely decipher ancient languages without human input, but actually it relies on human hypotheses and anchors.
Most people think AI can manufacture meaning out of nothing, but actually it needs an anchor or a known language family to tell it which patterns are meaningful.
Most people think AI has already fully deciphered Linear A, but actually the results are still under review.

Prelims Practice MCQs

Single facteasy

In June 2026, a breakthrough on deciphering Linear A was claimed using which tool?

A.AI-built programming scripts
B.Human intuition and guesswork
C.Cross-lingual transfer techniques
D.Cryptanalysis by codebreakers

AI-built programming scripts were used to test human hypotheses against thousands of characters, leading to a breakthrough in deciphering Linear A.

Multiple statementsmedium

Consider the following statements regarding AI in Deciphering Ancient Languages: 1. AI has been used to decipher Linear A. 2. The use of AI in deciphering ancient languages is a recent development, dating back only to the past few years. 3. Linear B, not Linear A, has been partially deciphered using AI. How many of the above statements are correct?

A.Only one
B.Only two
C.All three
D.None

Statement 1 is incorrect because while AI was used in a recent case (Fact #3) and another breakthrough was claimed in June 2026 (Fact #4), there is no evidence to suggest that Linear A has been deciphered. Statement 2 is incorrect because the use of AI in deciphering ancient languages predates the mentioned events, as shown by its successful application on Ugaritic scripts (Fact #8). Statement 3 is correct because Linear B, not Linear A, has been partially deciphered.

← All current affairs