"May this tusk wipe out lice in hair and beard": Archaeologists discovered this saying on an approximately 3,700-year-old ivory comb from the Canaanite city of Tel Lachish. The special feature: It is a complete sentence from the early development phase of the alphabet in the language of the Canaanites. The find proves that alphabetic writing was used in everyday life very early on, the scientists say.
Those reading this article are using a concept that is deeply rooted in history: alphabetical writing is believed to have originated in the Middle East around 1800 BC. Chr. emerged from preforms. The principle differed from the previous writing systems of Egypt and Mesopotamia in its simplicity: the characters of the alphabet stand for sounds from which the words of a language can be formed. This practical system was first used extensively by the Canaanites and eventually spread to the Mediterranean by the peoples of the Levant, known as Phoenicians. This then developed into the Greek and finally the Latin alphabet, which we use for our written language.
Tiny characters on an ivory comb
Various finds, mainly from the remains of Tel Lachish in Israel, testify to the early history of the development of the alphabet from the former Canaan. It was an important Canaanite city-state from the second millennium BC era. Tel Lachish is believed to have played an important role in the development of the alphabet. So far, however, only individual words or names have been found on objects in early alphabetical writing. But as the scientists around Yosef Garfinkel from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem now report, they have now also discovered an inscription with a complete sentence in Tel Lachish.
It is located on an ivory comb that measures only 3.5 by 2.5 centimeters and is estimated to be around 3,700 years old based on the circumstances of the find and the characteristics of the characters. It once had teeth on two sides, but these have broken off down to their bases. One row with six wider teeth was probably used for untangling hair buns, while the other side with 14 teeth apparently served "finer" purposes, the scientists report. The ridge was excavated in 2017, but co-author Madeleine Mumcuoglu only discovered the superficially engraved inscription during a renewed examination in 2022. The more detailed investigations then revealed that there are 17 letters on the crest that are only one to three millimeters wide.
Age-old challenge to lice
As the researchers report, the characters have an archaic form and date from the first phase of the invention of the alphabet. They finally succeeded in determining the meaning of the words formed. The saying on the comb is therefore: "May this tusk eradicate lice in hair and beard". This also makes it clear what purpose the finely toothed side of the comb was intended for: it was used to remove lice and nits. This was also confirmed by the finding of fragments of head louse nymphs in the tooth niches, the scientists report.
“The inscription is now the first sentence found in the Canaanite language in Israel. The saying is also direct evidence of the use of the alphabet in everyday life around 3,700 years ago,” Garfinkel emphasizes the significance of the find. It is also noteworthy that the inscription refers to the object's purpose - in contrast to dedication or ownership inscriptions on other objects. The crest material also suggests that the owner belonged to the city's wealthy class, the researchers say. Because ivory was a very expensive material and probably an imported luxury item from Egypt. The early evidence of alphabetical writing thus proves that even people with high social status suffered from lice at that time.
Source: Hebrew University of Jerusalem, professional article: Jerusalem Journal of Archeology, doi:10.52486/01.00002.4