Archaeologists discover oldest known sentence in first alphabet - BBC News

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  • Опубліковано 13 гру 2024
  • The oldest known sentence in the ancient language of Canaanites has been decoded by at team of Israeli archaeologists.
    The inscription was discovered on an ivory head-lice comb, unearthed at Tel Lachish, an ancient city in the Biblical Kingdom of Judah.
    Experts translated the comb to read: “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.”
    The landmark discovery provides evidence for the use of the alphabet 3,700 years ago.
    Please subscribe HERE bit.ly/1rbfUog
    #Language #History #BBCNews

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,1 тис.

  • @gracerodgers8952
    @gracerodgers8952 Рік тому +96

    "The cure for boredom is curiosity, there is no cure for curiosity". -Albert Einstein

    • @satanspy
      @satanspy 9 місяців тому +5

      i smoke weed whenever im bored and i never get bored.

    • @TomAndersonn
      @TomAndersonn 7 місяців тому +1

      Hard-core drugs will kill your curiosity

    • @jorgitoislamico4224
      @jorgitoislamico4224 2 місяці тому

      ​@@satanspy That's how you kill curiosity. Your brain is probably gigafried by now

  • @the_luggage
    @the_luggage Рік тому +104

    "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard."

    • @lampshadesneeded
      @lampshadesneeded 10 місяців тому

      Jews have always had lice. This comb was first in a line of inventions leading to zyklon b

    • @theianyx6394
      @theianyx6394 8 місяців тому +3

      i was hoping someone would decipher what he was saying : ) ty 💖

    • @elainemunro4621
      @elainemunro4621 4 місяці тому +1

      Is a gift inscription?

    • @CoolhandLukeSkywalkr
      @CoolhandLukeSkywalkr 2 місяці тому

      ​@@elainemunro4621 Some artisan crafts a comb and inscribed it. Sells for big money in 1700bc.

  • @jyreklordinthrain7813
    @jyreklordinthrain7813 Рік тому +288

    Fascinating! As a Hebrew speaker I actually understood most of the sentence before he translated it! Specifically I understood the words "lice", "tusk", "hair", and "beard". There was also a word that sounded like "wither" so maybe that's related to "root out"? Also, most of the letters resemble Hebrew letters and make the same sound as he made when he spoke.
    Apparently ancient Canaanite is (at least partly) mutually intelligible with modern Hebrew!!

    • @andrewfoster883
      @andrewfoster883 Рік тому +15

      That's amazing. I had no idea the two languages would still have that much in common

    • @andreabradley5837
      @andreabradley5837 Рік тому +7

      Many characters resemble runes as well.

    • @markstuckless5039
      @markstuckless5039 Рік тому +5

      @@andrewfoster883 ya i thought modern 'hebrew' was just a bunch of guess work done by russians

    • @harrynewiss4630
      @harrynewiss4630 Рік тому +13

      @@markstuckless5039 Modern Hebrew was re-assembled with quite a lot of ancient elements I think

    • @geoffreygoldsmith6181
      @geoffreygoldsmith6181 Рік тому +20

      To those who thought the modern Hebrew is unrelated to ancient Hebrew. I have been studying biblical Hebrew and it is clear that modern Hebrew is almost the same as the 2,100-year-old words in the Dead Sea Scrolls. To me, modern Hebrew sounds like biblical Hebrew spoken with a Yiddish accent.

  • @orionsuniversepart2932
    @orionsuniversepart2932 Рік тому +215

    The earliest known recorded sentence, like the video suggests by 3:35 is “May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard.” Incredible!

    • @stephanieyee9784
      @stephanieyee9784 Рік тому +40

      Caananite Manscaping.

    • @rhetoric5173
      @rhetoric5173 Рік тому +4

      From their research paper: "The combination of the lack of the letter’s shape among the known letters in inscriptions found in Canaan and its consistent presence in the South Arabian alphabet leads us to conclude, albeit cautiously, that the letter in our inscription is a prototype of the Canaanite ḥet from which descend the South Arabian similar types." The inscriptions are in ARABIC. Call it cannantite phjoenician bla bla bla theyre all just Arabic.

    • @funwithFred
      @funwithFred Рік тому +2

      Thank you so much, so many vids, painfully slow and repetitive.

    • @NGOANHKHOIA-
      @NGOANHKHOIA- Рік тому +8

      @@rhetoric5173 Are you an Arab stan

    • @lauterunvollkommenheit4344
      @lauterunvollkommenheit4344 Рік тому +15

      @@rhetoric5173 No, it says the South Arabian letter descends from this prototype. (And that the corresponding Ugaritic letter descends from this one too.)

  • @amiciprocul8501
    @amiciprocul8501 Рік тому +108

    It's so humbling to think how many cultures and languages have woven the collective tapestry of our species' story and to think that ours might be lost to time one day.

    • @eliasstenman3710
      @eliasstenman3710 Рік тому +7

      Honestly I think the largest languages like English or Spanish have enough power be remembered for tens of millenia at this point. But of course, in billions of years everything disappears…

    • @sebastianguerre6868
      @sebastianguerre6868 Рік тому

      All species come and go. 99.9% of all species that ever existed are now extinct. We're doomed!

    • @OptimusWombat
      @OptimusWombat Рік тому +3

      Especially when you consider that most of our writing is recorded either on paper or digitally, neither of which will last nearly as long as writing on stone tablets. Consider that the Dead Sea Scrolls are around 2,000 years old and reasonably well preserved, but that's only because they were stored in the middle of a desert. If they'd been stored in a humid environment they would've been long gone.

    • @Laocoon283
      @Laocoon283 Рік тому +2

      Like tears in the rain

    • @JeantheSecond-ip7qm
      @JeantheSecond-ip7qm 5 місяців тому

      @@OptimusWombatMost of our writing is on paper and the internet, but not all of it. Future humans may decipher our language the same way we’ve deciphered some ancient languages. We have carved writing onto stones in monuments.

  • @shmookins
    @shmookins Рік тому +122

    Imagine the person making that comb, writing that sentence, all that time ago.
    Now imagine people from thousands of years from now doing the same to the little things we take for granted we have today.
    What a queer thing time is.

    • @m_lies
      @m_lies Рік тому +8

      yeah, but the thing is, most things are so abundant, that they are everywhere. We have lots of huge landfills with hundreds of thousands of tons of trash, and a lot of the things will not decompose in the next few thousands of years...
      While most of the ancient stuff was re-used and recycled, which is why it's often hard to come by anything... It's even rare to find writings on paper/papyrus/parchment that are over 500+ years old, except for few finds, as most of them have been reused since the materials were so valuable...

    • @SharpestStone
      @SharpestStone Рік тому +5

      We are just a fleck on the timeline of humanity at the very beginning our existence.

    • @PortugalZeroworldcup
      @PortugalZeroworldcup 10 місяців тому +1

      But keeping sacred music alive is important

    • @ImPrismuh
      @ImPrismuh 6 місяців тому

      Time is gay ur right

  • @User-M-.
    @User-M-. Рік тому +258

    For anyone who is interested I can recommend the documentary „The secret history of writing“. It’s a very inspiring documentary since they also explain the history and development of paper, printing and of course the alphabet.

    • @asmith9140
      @asmith9140 Рік тому +2

      I missed the sentence can anyone tell me what it was please

    • @jessicas.6235
      @jessicas.6235 Рік тому +3

      I’ll check it out, thanks!

    • @johannesschubert7491
      @johannesschubert7491 Рік тому +14

      @@asmith9140 It says: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard."

    • @asmith9140
      @asmith9140 Рік тому +1

      @@johannesschubert7491 ohh ,than k you . Thanks mr schubert

    • @martinc.720
      @martinc.720 Рік тому +1

      What did it inspire you to do?

  • @mstsp9546
    @mstsp9546 Рік тому +128

    Really interesting to see how that early writing was used, like an inscription, or as someone suggested, an advertisement. It's fun as it isn't necessarily religious, or a weapon, but a comb, identified as tusk by the writer.

    • @janemorrow6672
      @janemorrow6672 Рік тому +19

      I’m a spinner and weaver and some early spindle whorls have similar incantations inscribed on them.

    • @craftycriminalistwithms.z3053
      @craftycriminalistwithms.z3053 Рік тому +2

      @@janemorrow6672 how cool! I would love to see some of those! If you have a place to see those or ever come across something similar, please let me know!!

    • @janemorrow6672
      @janemorrow6672 Рік тому +2

      @@craftycriminalistwithms.z3053 here’s one example. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckquoy_spindle-whorl

    • @faithlesshound5621
      @faithlesshound5621 Рік тому

      Maybe we need to expand the meaning of that Canaanite word to include scraping as well as biting, so that it encompasses toothed combs as well as tusks. Or just say "these teeth" rather than "this tusk."

    • @julesgosnell9791
      @julesgosnell9791 Рік тому +5

      @@faithlesshound5621 Aren't you leaping to conclusions by linking "teeth" with "tusk" ? Is it not an ivory comb ? I'm guessing that this is Elephant ivory, therefore, quite literally, a small piece of "tusk"."teeth" when used with a comb, I haven't checked this, may be metaphorical. This metaphor is cultural and maybe not shared with Bronze age Canaan.

  • @nathantoth1527
    @nathantoth1527 Рік тому +40

    History's such a beautiful lesson.

    • @GetItRightUpYees
      @GetItRightUpYees Рік тому +1

      Yep 75 years ago Europe was under attack,lesson learned

    • @dennis8196
      @dennis8196 Рік тому

      @@GetItRightUpYees 75 years ago Europe was fighting Europe. It's all the same. America is in the early stages of a civil war. Most African countries are at or near peace without European interference, and you are still a dick.

    • @eliasstenman3710
      @eliasstenman3710 Рік тому +1

      @Rob Berlin Blockade maybe?

    • @MelioraCogito
      @MelioraCogito Рік тому

      @Rob _"75 years ago was 1948"_ [sic]
      Maths wasn't his strong suit.

  • @pamelapilling6996
    @pamelapilling6996 Рік тому +39

    Extremely interesting. Thank you for reporting on this discovery. To think it was directions for use of a tool is fascinating.

    • @wordzmyth
      @wordzmyth Рік тому +2

      I agree it is a stunning completely readable discovery. And functional not decorative. Just wonderful.

  • @workingtoseethelight8244
    @workingtoseethelight8244 Рік тому +275

    Absolutely amazing thanks to the archaeologists for the excavation and to the BBC for another of many great videos!

    • @ltipst2962
      @ltipst2962 Рік тому +2

      Hey man nice comment need more of this

    • @workingtoseethelight8244
      @workingtoseethelight8244 Рік тому +6

      @@ltipst2962 So kind of you to comment on my comment, and is it not absolutely stunning that the first sentence was to help others keep their hair straight! Only blessings for those of us are true and have kept our hair straight since the beginning!

    • @ltipst2962
      @ltipst2962 Рік тому

      @@workingtoseethelight8244 Wise words indeed they would hate my curls! Hahaha :) good blessings to you always

    • @empatheticliberalabomina-vu4qp
      @empatheticliberalabomina-vu4qp Рік тому

      ​@L TipsT Yeah like OMG how did she come up with this totally original and unique comment right??

    • @asmith9140
      @asmith9140 Рік тому +1

      Fanastic!

  • @erinmcdonald7781
    @erinmcdonald7781 Рік тому +51

    This is truly a landmark discovery. But, it still makes me chuckle that this writing is essentially labeling for a lice comb, a humble bit of writing. I think we often expect these types of finds will be noble inscriptions on tombs or official documents.
    Interesting segment about one of my favorite archeological finds. 💚

    • @mrjones2721
      @mrjones2721 Рік тому +5

      That’s the thing about ancient inscriptions. We think they’ll reveal ancient secrets and dark mysteries, but when we translate them, they’re mostly shipping receipts, court cases, school exercises, and some guy with lice in his beard.

    • @patreekotime4578
      @patreekotime4578 Рік тому

      The vast majority of known Sumerian writing is just receipts and seals. Similarly, the Harrappan language is known almost entirely from seals so even if we could translate it, all we would gain from the knowledge is the names of a bunch of merchants. 🤣

    • @mrjones2721
      @mrjones2721 Рік тому

      @@patreekotime4578 "The first words from the Harappan civilization have been revealed: They are: Bob... Gary... Sharon... Mike. This extra-long inscription is believed to be Phyllis's Animal Feed and Soda Stop. We look forward to discovering what kinds of sodas the ancient Harappans preferred."

  • @nsr180
    @nsr180 Рік тому +13

    Historical. History was my favourite subject in learning.
    Thx for the piece

  • @Oblivious_uncertainties
    @Oblivious_uncertainties Рік тому +71

    Stunning, absolutely stunning. History always surprises me.

    • @GEMSofGOD_com
      @GEMSofGOD_com Рік тому +1

      What's stunning is that the jews had it then. What's not is altering headlines to make them sound overly more sensational. The authors of the paper have ditched all phrases like "first alphabet" eventually. As a matter of fact, studies show that Ancient Egyptian had basically only two vowels, a and o, with just a few rules that everyone there knew since childhood. As I recall it, [a] was there after the first consonant most of the time, and only verbs had more than one vowel, [o] before the last consonant in most cases - and there was only maybe a rule or two more. This makes it look like Ancient Egyptian letters correspond to certain vowels & consonants clearer than modern English! They simply didn't have to add vowels to their stacks of letters called alphabets by many only in case of both consonants and vowels there. In no way I undervalue this introduction of many vowels and letters for them which was made by the jews. But, here's another thing. Maybe - just maybe - that was something not that far away from - and maybe even ordered (from "the Northern church of the Moon", which was Ethiopia, and, well, the jews - Galit Dayan) by - *Egyptian* carriers of science? And that's millenias of "not the first" alphabet!

    • @Oblivious_uncertainties
      @Oblivious_uncertainties Рік тому

      @@GEMSofGOD_com Ohhh, that's great info for me. I suppose modern language is more complex than ancient Egypt. It is the complete opposite of what I had thought.

    • @GEMSofGOD_com
      @GEMSofGOD_com Рік тому +1

      @@Oblivious_uncertainties Because the strong form of "jews had the first alphabet" implies that Chinese or Japanese letters (I won't recall now) aren't alphabetic and don't even produce developed languages, which obviously ain't the case. And Ancient Egyptian was super close to nature! You know, Shu the air, Tefnut the spit, Ae = come, etc, A Vocalized Dictionary of Ancient Egypt is a great dictionary! Pharaohs have been orators, first and foremost. They together with writers (the highest job there) created cool words that got repeated in rituals such as festivals for the people to know and share for higher understanding of each other and nature. Eventually their language and cosmogony created both Genesis and Exodus (and other books of the Bible later on) that were the ONLY piece of literature 99% knew in the next 2000 years

    • @patreekotime4578
      @patreekotime4578 Рік тому

      @@Oblivious_uncertainties Dont listen to this weird anti-semetic nonsense. The Egyptains had a version of an alphabet which they really only used "alphabetically" for names. Meanwhile, in order to actually read Egyptian texts you need to be able to recognize thousands of logographic symbols (like if the word for "car" was just a drawing of a car) as well as a host of "identifier" symbols that arnt spoken but clarify what the word is referring to (presumably to avoid the confusion of homophones). Chinese has a similar combination of logographs and "sound symbols" which are used for names. But the Caananite invention of an alphabet used to write out words phonetically without extra identifier symbols seems to have been a unique and singular invention which spread around the world. Although there is much contention and dispute as to whether early Indian alphabetic scripts were inspired by Phoneician or was a seperate invention. But the amount of trade happening through the region makes it unlikely IMO that it was a wholly seperate invention.

  • @BraveLittlePixel
    @BraveLittlePixel Рік тому +9

    I'm just shocked that if this woman didn't feel like doing a bit of extra work to take another photo of the comb, that this would be entirely unknown. What else are we missing from finds because one lady somewhere didn't take an extra photo?

    • @patreekotime4578
      @patreekotime4578 Рік тому +2

      It is a fact that museum collections are some of the largest untapped resources for discovery. There often just isnt enough money or interest to sift through them. And this was a piece that was being described. A great amount of materials is collected and never described. This makes it all the more terrible when I think about the looting of museums like what happened in Iraq.

  • @saturdayplayer2492
    @saturdayplayer2492 Рік тому +10

    These discoveries are fantastic. There must be so many objects yet to be found which will shine a light on ancient history.

    • @jo-vf8jx
      @jo-vf8jx Рік тому +2

      And so many waiting for further inspection. Like this comb, objects often get a quick once over and then back in a box/drawer. Discoveries made years later :)

  • @franceslynch8815
    @franceslynch8815 Рік тому +2

    These are little nuggets that shine golden light on our past. Thanks bbc.

  • @pnf197
    @pnf197 Рік тому +33

    Great find from a woman who does ancient puzzles, so cool.

    • @LukeVilent
      @LukeVilent Рік тому +5

      My wife is doing her masters in Ancient Orient now. With archaeology being an old discipline, there's unfortunately quite a lot of gender prejudices in some fields. Say, for some reason, Roman glass was considered somewhat of 'unmanly', and so only women make publications on this subject. So, for some reason, it's both inspiring and sad to see the woman doing research on combs, and men to read Canaanite.

    • @wordzmyth
      @wordzmyth Рік тому +1

      ​@Nikolay Ivankov it is still her discovery. And it was surprisingly readable.

    • @IanCthrwd
      @IanCthrwd 10 місяців тому

      1:21 Funny how she treats these 3000 year old shards like mahjong tiles. (Hoping these are replicas)

  • @suemick8709
    @suemick8709 Рік тому +19

    A utilitarian object with proto-advertising was my first thought. Really amazing find and yanks your mind back in time.

    • @honestj820
      @honestj820 Рік тому

      Hey how are you doing?

    • @jaybe2908
      @jaybe2908 Рік тому

      Could have been a gift with a message from the giver? guess we will never know

  • @ladyhonor822
    @ladyhonor822 Рік тому +7

    Thank you for your time, effort and love ❤️. Philadelphia USA 🇺🇲

  • @philokevetch8691
    @philokevetch8691 Рік тому +8

    If you love history you know you just don't read about it you feel it with all the senses, intensely. This notion is apparent in all these wonderful archeologist and lovers of philology. ❤️

  • @jamesrahe5287
    @jamesrahe5287 Рік тому +3

    That Vainstub guy's smile just made me happy inside

  • @sledzeppelin
    @sledzeppelin Рік тому +3

    It was translated to "Please contact us to renew your extended warranty coverage".

  • @therealzilch
    @therealzilch Рік тому +5

    Simply wonderful. I especially appreciated the comb being called a "tusk", since as an instrumentmaker, I work with tusks (mammoth, not elephant) all the time
    Thanks for the great work. Cheers from sunny Vienna, Scott

  • @peters972
    @peters972 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for finding this and being so curious

  • @kidmohair8151
    @kidmohair8151 Рік тому +19

    I'm glad that the clarification of 1st *alphabetic* writing system was applied.
    as for it being Canaanite?
    if by "Canaanite", one means a person who lived in the area of
    the eastern shore of the Med, then I can accept that.
    if this comb is from 3,000 BP, the name Canaan,
    was applied almost a millennium and a half later, in the old testament.
    I fear that most of the archeology being done in the State of Israel is being tinged by modern politics though.

    • @rcethervaac539
      @rcethervaac539 Рік тому +3

      Right, and what about cuneiform or maybe even protocuneiform? I think this is bs... sadly

    • @filippo2806
      @filippo2806 Рік тому +2

      That risk Is in all the middle East not only in israel

    • @kidmohair8151
      @kidmohair8151 Рік тому +7

      @@rcethervaac539 *alphabetic*, not pictographic.
      which is what cuneiform is.
      that is why the clarification is important,
      if not exactly highlighted.

    • @rcethervaac539
      @rcethervaac539 Рік тому +1

      @@filippo2806 git yat oğlum boş boş konuşuyorsun

    • @kidmohair8151
      @kidmohair8151 Рік тому +3

      @@filippo2806 I agree to a certain extent.
      Archeology in Iraq is in shambles, and in Iran might as well be forbidden if it doesn't serve the Islamic Republic. There is some
      very good work being done in Pakistan, but it is severely underfunded and neglected by the needs of that country to shore up its status as regional power. Turkey? Again there is still some valuable work being done on the very oldest sites, while the newer ones are being inundated by hydro-electric projects meant to spite the Kurds.
      So that leaves the reporting from Israel.
      It's a sad state of affairs.

  • @felawes
    @felawes Рік тому +1

    Amongst the lies and deception of the BBC is gold like this.

  • @stephenwalker2924
    @stephenwalker2924 Рік тому +9

    The first sentence, ever, reads: "must pick up milk. and bread."

    • @sjl197
      @sjl197 Рік тому

      Nah, earlier still is, “you owe me for the milk and bread!”

    • @MelioraCogito
      @MelioraCogito Рік тому

      @@sjl197 _"You owe me for the use of my cow and the wheat you collected off my land..."_

  • @jaybrodell1959
    @jaybrodell1959 Рік тому +1

    Even more incredible is that the maker of the comb expected the user of the comb to be literate.

  • @Materialworld4
    @Materialworld4 Рік тому +13

    It was wonderful to see the excitement of these amazing scientists, it made me so happy for all of them, wow.

  • @nuqwestr
    @nuqwestr Рік тому +15

    The letter "Q" is an ideograph for "Monkey", WOW, I can see it. We are still the people of the middle-Bronze age and before.

    • @prsimoibn2710
      @prsimoibn2710 Рік тому

      ق

    • @nuqwestr
      @nuqwestr Рік тому

      @@GlennRA3 Agreed, the monkey "inference" works for me. No question archaeologists love to fantasize about the minds of ancient people, Example are fertility figures of large females, perhaps its just ancient porn, knowing how visual men are.

  • @jinz0
    @jinz0 Рік тому +12

    she is a hero, people like this who do good work

    • @stephanieyee9784
      @stephanieyee9784 Рік тому

      I agree. This woman is a bloody Legend. What an Amazing and well deserved discovery.

  • @chrisj49300
    @chrisj49300 Рік тому +3

    Very touching discovery. And the lice must be so proud.

  • @ianwilkinson5069
    @ianwilkinson5069 Рік тому +2

    Keep in mind this is only the oldest known Alphabetical writing, the Sumerian scripts go back to at least 3400bc. Thats over five thousand years.

  • @jimparsons6803
    @jimparsons6803 Рік тому +9

    How about that? Really important. There was a special n PBS that talked about this evolution from the Egyptian glyph types into an alphabet. The assumptions by the PBS narrators was that the Canaanites found the Egyptian to be clumsy and used their own language to foreshorten the Egyptian. Pretty clever, if you think about it. Easily one of the more important tools made by people.

    • @1Bohemica
      @1Bohemica Рік тому +3

      I believe that although every known alphabet traces its roots back to the Egyptian hieroglyphs, the point made in that documentary was that early modern alphabets emerged during a long series of attempted simplifications of the Egyptian ideograms. Gradually, signs came to represent syllables or individual sounds (consonants and later vowels). It's still way to early, if at all possible, to say which was first. But that it must have been created in modern Middle East seems likely.

    • @jonnyvincent2236
      @jonnyvincent2236 Рік тому

      You both should see Doug petrovich work. He has shown how it was ephraim and Mannasseh who invented the script

    • @patreekotime4578
      @patreekotime4578 Рік тому

      @@1Bohemica There was actually an interplay between attempts to use random Egyptain hieroglyphs as "letters" and Ugaritic, which was a Cunieform abjad and possibly the oldest true "alphabet". Ugaritic preserves the original letter order as well. However Cunieform is really only good for writing in clay or carving in stone. But the need for a flexible, simple script that could be scrawled onto any surface gave rise to the Caananite script. Some Ugaritic letters bare resemblance to Caananite, but mostly the inventers of Caananite took the sounds and the letter order (and potentially the names of the letters, but I think that is debatable).

  • @svenmorgenstern9506
    @svenmorgenstern9506 Рік тому +1

    And it was about your car's extended service warranty. 🤦‍♀

  • @lateesjp
    @lateesjp Рік тому +6

    Oldest "known" sentence, they'll find an older one somewhere eventually. This is the beauty of exploration, the more u search the more u will discover.

    • @annabellelee4535
      @annabellelee4535 Рік тому +1

      Oldest known sentence written in an alphabet. Gilgamesh, written in cuneiform, is nearly 5000 years old and it's entire stories. There is Chinese writing that is also 5000 years old.

  • @smrk2452
    @smrk2452 7 місяців тому

    My grandmother used to chide me for asking too many questions. It’s the old way of being, especially for women and girls. I’m glad you continued in your truth!

  • @zoundstreetop
    @zoundstreetop Рік тому +12

    Awesome. The first sentence found is an advertisement worthy of Sweeney Todd.

    • @silvr94
      @silvr94 Рік тому

      It's the first attestation of a sentence written in an ALPHABET, not the first sentence ever written

  • @elihinze3161
    @elihinze3161 Рік тому +2

    What an amazing discovery! I love that we're uncovering more of these things every day

  • @GetItRightUpYees
    @GetItRightUpYees Рік тому +11

    Did it say never trust the tories?

  • @leogarbarski2382
    @leogarbarski2382 2 місяці тому

    Very moving!

  • @interestingyoutubechannel1
    @interestingyoutubechannel1 Рік тому +5

    For Jews its especially exciting to find this discovery, as the Jewish nation's language - Hebrew - is the last surviving Canaanite language. Israelite ancestry was in its roots, Canaanite.

  • @JK-br1mu
    @JK-br1mu Рік тому +1

    If man really evolved as slowly as scientists believe, the first evidence of a written language should date back 10-20,000 years ago or longer. Not 3,700................Discuss:

  • @מוגוגוגו
    @מוגוגוגו Рік тому +9

    Its weird that "Zakat" is beard. In Hebrew its "Zakan" and its used in context as "old" as well , but its hard to play with the verb when the "n" is replaced.

    • @adrianblake8876
      @adrianblake8876 Рік тому

      "beard" is a noun, not a verb, and the -t suffix probably means the writer thought it to be of feminine gender or sth...

    • @מוגוגוגו
      @מוגוגוגו Рік тому

      @@adrianblake8876 Yes , beards are very feminine... NOT. Probably its best if you have experience in Hebrew before we engage in further...sth....

  • @sikemo9432
    @sikemo9432 Рік тому +2

    Great job! Stay curious.

  • @minsapint8007
    @minsapint8007 Рік тому +6

    First rate work by all involved. Thanks to the BBC for highlighting this find.

  • @radiorob7543
    @radiorob7543 Рік тому

    Thanks Beeb. Good work all around.

  • @ectosplazum
    @ectosplazum Рік тому +3

    "What's for dinner?"

  • @Didier19592
    @Didier19592 Рік тому +1

    Interesting, but this is already old news. I heard about it maybe 3-4 months ago?

  • @janegardener1662
    @janegardener1662 Рік тому +12

    "May this task root out the lice of the hair and the beard". So practical! I love it.

  • @deanevangelista6359
    @deanevangelista6359 Рік тому +1

    Translated to English, it reads “We’ve been trying to reach you regarding your car’s warranty.”

  • @maribellelebre6809
    @maribellelebre6809 Рік тому +8

    I couldn’t understand quite a bit - including the first sentence - and I can’t be alone in this.
    UA-cam subtitles didn’t either.
    This could have used BBC generated subtitles.

    • @Sisteryoda1440
      @Sisteryoda1440 Рік тому +2

      The transcript located in the description area below the video may have the information you’re looking for.

    • @D4Mathur
      @D4Mathur Рік тому +3

      It's there in the description

    • @1Bohemica
      @1Bohemica Рік тому

      There's also an article in NY Times (Nov. 9, 2022) and plenty in French.

  • @switchedon6530
    @switchedon6530 Рік тому +1

    Next you'll be telling us Dinosaurs are real and man actually landed on the moon 🤣🤣🤣

  • @momentomori5263
    @momentomori5263 Рік тому +8

    .....3,700 years later some people barely know and use the alphabet

    • @sassykitty292
      @sassykitty292 Рік тому

      Do you mean "barely know HOW to use the alphabet"? I see evidence of that WAAAAYY too often. It's sad, really....

  • @omicron6513
    @omicron6513 Рік тому +2

    Sentence revealed at 3:34: ""May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard."

  • @polygonalmasonary
    @polygonalmasonary Рік тому +3

    The translation: ‘Not suitable for children under 3 years old’ 😂🤣🤣

  • @martinemjt
    @martinemjt Рік тому +2

    truly fascinating!

  • @phpn99
    @phpn99 Рік тому +13

    Canaanite is not the earliest alphabetic script ; it is derived from Proto-Sinaitic script, which originated earlier in Egypt.

    • @ghostrider369
      @ghostrider369 Рік тому +1

      Exactly and Sanskrit how old is that. The Sri Lankan language is oldest apparently

    • @faithlesshound5621
      @faithlesshound5621 Рік тому +4

      @@ghostrider369 How old is Sanskrit writing? In Brahmi script it goes back no further than the 3rd century BC, as does Sinhalese.

    • @markborok4481
      @markborok4481 Рік тому +1

      According to this, Photo-Sinaitic did originate in Egypt, but was developed by either Canaanites or Hyksos: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Sinaitic_script.

    • @BatsAndBadgers
      @BatsAndBadgers Рік тому

      these archaelogoists pushing a narrative for their own funding , what u gotta do
      but definetly for sure there older alphabets than 3700 bc

    • @faithlesshound5621
      @faithlesshound5621 Рік тому

      @@BatsAndBadgers Well, don't keep us waiting, if you know of an alphabet earlier than 3700 BC tell us what it is!

  • @WujekFu
    @WujekFu Рік тому +2

    I like how the bald guy is describing the ancient comb.

  • @QwadLuzr
    @QwadLuzr Рік тому +3

    BBC - "..and that sentence was, diversity is our strength.."

  • @gpan62
    @gpan62 Рік тому +1

    Archeologists: quick, check all those ancient combs 😉🤣

  • @paulforester6996
    @paulforester6996 Рік тому +4

    I would expect the oldest note in the world to be a I O U.

  • @dubsar
    @dubsar 4 місяці тому +1

    Did they forget about the Sumerians?

  • @jovimathews
    @jovimathews Рік тому +11

    World’s first language character alphabets discovered in ancient Jerusalem ❤

    • @sjl197
      @sjl197 Рік тому +11

      Alphabet doesn’t mean first writing, just checking that’s clear

    • @phpn99
      @phpn99 Рік тому +6

      @@sjl197 Indeed - and Canaanite is derived from Proto-Sinaitic, which originated in Egypt.

    • @James-eo6bu
      @James-eo6bu Рік тому +1

      That's not true

    • @ttii9
      @ttii9 Рік тому +2

      And Egyptians borrowed their alphabet from the Sumerians.

    • @alexandergalitevstudentfvh8696
      @alexandergalitevstudentfvh8696 Рік тому +2

      the first language recorded was egytian and sumerian, not in jerusalem.

  • @richardcooper68
    @richardcooper68 Рік тому +1

    It says, have you been injured in an accident that wasn't your fault.

  • @prism560
    @prism560 Рік тому +3

    how many times do we keep discovering things by accident?

  • @karphin1
    @karphin1 Рік тому +2

    Wonderful discovery!

  • @ndlz1
    @ndlz1 Рік тому +3

    Centuries later, so interesting to learn of past life.🙏

  • @tr1p1ea
    @tr1p1ea Рік тому +1

    It shows that writing must have been well established prior to the time the comb was made.
    Just how long prior remains a mystery.

  • @MH_Bikes
    @MH_Bikes Рік тому +7

    I knew it! First sentence ever.
    "It was a dark and stormy night ..."

    • @hk-ub1pv
      @hk-ub1pv Рік тому +2

      In the bininging

    • @softdrink-0
      @softdrink-0 Рік тому

      @@hk-ub1pveen de benenging

    • @tastypymp1287
      @tastypymp1287 Рік тому +2

      It says "Please give me more money - Zelensky"

  • @tims8603
    @tims8603 10 місяців тому

    Never stop being curious and never stop learning.

  • @rabidL3M0NS
    @rabidL3M0NS Рік тому +13

    It’s amazing how so many different scripts such as Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Runic, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Tibetan, Bengali, Mongolian, and so many more can all trace their ancestry back to Proto-Sinaitic, itself derived from Egyptian hieroglyphics. There should be a recurring pilgrimage to the Great Pyramids (tower of babble) to celebrate our shared linguistic origin.

    • @manh385
      @manh385 Рік тому +5

      The Aramaic & Brahmi connection hypothesis, is still uncertain due to the lack of direct evidence and unexplained differences between Aramaic & Brahmi.

    • @dayangmarikit6860
      @dayangmarikit6860 Рік тому

      Even the scripts in Southeast Asia such as (Thai, Khmer, Kawi, Baybayin, etc).

    • @jamesboth3785
      @jamesboth3785 Рік тому

      What about Mayan, Astecz, Incas? . Religion is a lie

    • @roh-mj6em
      @roh-mj6em Рік тому

      Brahmi script is still not clear whether it belongs to the same family or not. Some argue it derived from indus script.

    • @manh385
      @manh385 Рік тому

      @@roh-mj6em
      Is it the same family you meant Indo-European languages family ?

  • @johnnewman8357
    @johnnewman8357 Рік тому +1

    Annoying background music

  • @VFella
    @VFella Рік тому +8

    Ah, that's already famous! The comb's inscription says something like "may this comb kill all tour lice" or similar. Pretty amazing glimpse into the life of the common people of hte period. And we are talking Middle Bronze Age

    • @patriciacooper1308
      @patriciacooper1308 Рік тому

      Lol I was thinking the same 🤣

    • @fintonking7525
      @fintonking7525 Рік тому

      It may have just said: This comb is for the extraction of lice from head-hair and beard. People today like to complicate things.

    • @MelioraCogito
      @MelioraCogito Рік тому +2

      _"May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard."_

    • @VFella
      @VFella Рік тому +1

      @@MelioraCogito Indeed. Fascinating. As it shows the complexity and sophistication of this Bronze Age culture.
      It would be interesting to know if this was meant just as a sort of "funny" inscription, like what we see on mugs nowadays, or if this was in fact some sort of magical incantation that they believed would enhance the properties of the comb.

  • @pandahsykes602
    @pandahsykes602 Рік тому +2

    It’s so amazing to know that the ancient people that we sometimes see as savages did the same things that we did , like taking care of their appearance.

  • @sebastianguerre6868
    @sebastianguerre6868 Рік тому +3

    Looking at head lice of your ancestors. Strangely interesting.

  • @alexcoffield6814
    @alexcoffield6814 2 дні тому

    The initial look at the comb must have been comprehensive.
    Good practice to keep finds in your personal draw

  • @biancacastafiore383
    @biancacastafiore383 Рік тому +3

    Well it’s funny that the first sentence written with canaanite letters is about headlice. If these people knew that thousands of years later people get so excited about that. But this everyday problem doesn’t make the discovery less amazing.

    • @StacieC
      @StacieC Рік тому +1

      Did you pass second grade? This is not the first sentence written with Canaanite letters. This is being credited as the oldest found.

    • @MelioraCogito
      @MelioraCogito Рік тому

      @@StacieC_"Did you pass second grade? This is not the first sentence written with Canaanite letters. This is being credited as the oldest found."_
      LOL... Even with my own OCD for pedantry, I would have let the OP's comment slide by as just an inattentive misinterpretation, not worthy of correction.

  • @KaiserBlade
    @KaiserBlade Рік тому +1

    Does it say "the end is near" ?

  • @thedoruk6324
    @thedoruk6324 Рік тому +11

    Imagine the full translation come out as : Truly a suspiciously among us moment throughout the history

    • @GetItRightUpYees
      @GetItRightUpYees Рік тому

      I shagged Mary ,anybody sen my son Jesus it says

    • @wizzotizzo
      @wizzotizzo Рік тому +2

      there's lice among us

    • @bolasblancas420
      @bolasblancas420 Рік тому +2

      Your sentence doesn’t make sense.

    • @thedoruk6324
      @thedoruk6324 Рік тому +3

      @@bolasblancas420 it does

    • @bolasblancas420
      @bolasblancas420 Рік тому

      @@thedoruk6324 truly a suspicious moment among us throughout history.

  • @joeblack4436
    @joeblack4436 Рік тому +1

    That it's a pun is just precious.

  • @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922
    @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922 Рік тому +4

    How far back dose this push alphabetically writing?

    • @Laocoon283
      @Laocoon283 Рік тому +2

      0 years

    • @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922
      @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922 Рік тому +1

      @@Laocoon283 how do you know this either the video lies or it would push back alphabetical writing discovering the oldest means that it has to push back the time at least by something

    • @Laocoon283
      @Laocoon283 Рік тому +4

      @@rebelcommander7starwarsjur922 they knew they had alphabetic writing at this time period they just never found a complete sentence. So the timeframe hasn't changed any.

    • @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922
      @rebelcommander7starwarsjur922 Рік тому +1

      @@Laocoon283 ah makes sense

  • @bandongogogo
    @bandongogogo Рік тому +1

    HISTORY IS AMAZING!

  • @mpgnz73
    @mpgnz73 Рік тому +5

    Fantastic find, but am I the only one who thinks the symbols on the comb should have been detected well before taking the photo? They seem very clear to me.

    • @jo-vf8jx
      @jo-vf8jx Рік тому +5

      They probably appeared to look like scratches at 1st.

    • @wordzmyth
      @wordzmyth Рік тому +3

      Having 2020 hindsight is easy. Many touched the comb and didn't see it.

    • @fjuvo
      @fjuvo Рік тому +3

      The comb is also tiny

    • @jaybe2908
      @jaybe2908 Рік тому +1

      She must have used some optical device to see the lice though?

    • @Meevious
      @Meevious Рік тому +1

      @@wordzmyth Unless they weren't there at that stage. The discoverer is a forensic archaeologist. In other words, she happens to belong to the profession that's best qualified to create undetectable forgeries.

  • @jamiefoyers2800
    @jamiefoyers2800 10 місяців тому

    Amazing where language can turn up...especially on a comb fragment!. It's even more amazing that it can be translated...there's so many ancient languages that can't be understood let alone translated. I wonder if this is the Canaanite version of the "Rosetta Stone?".

  • @gaviahuja5352
    @gaviahuja5352 Рік тому +10

    may this task root out the lies of the hair and the beard was the first human sentence ever to form.

    • @monakw
      @monakw Рік тому +5

      ...but it's lice, no lie!✌

    • @KayAteChef
      @KayAteChef Рік тому +2

      The comb of truth!

    • @ForgottenLore
      @ForgottenLore Рік тому +2

      Oldest to be found, you mean.

    • @asmith9140
      @asmith9140 Рік тому +2

      It is like a comb isnt it!

  • @guyarrol582
    @guyarrol582 Рік тому

    1st ever sentence, I've come to talk to you about your carts extended warranty

  • @janiekcarney5482
    @janiekcarney5482 Рік тому +3

    I won’t listen because of the music.

  • @rl8925
    @rl8925 Рік тому

    Wrong instrument in the background for this wonderful story

  • @olgierdogden4742
    @olgierdogden4742 Рік тому +4

    It appears that we are reverting back to Hieroglyphs with the use of Emojis. History repeating itself.

  • @betsydonato6817
    @betsydonato6817 Рік тому +1

    Thank you for this evidence of universal paradox in today's modern old language between finding sentences,,and forming them.

  • @top10goat36
    @top10goat36 Рік тому +3

    So who is the rightful people of Israel?

    • @boballende
      @boballende Рік тому

      Abraham, the so-called first Patriarch of the Jewish people never had any right to Palestine. The bible (what many like to use as a property deed) and even their own Jewish sources says that "god" told Abraham to leave his own family and country (Genesis 12:1).
      -
      The Zionists conspired to steal land in Palestine going back to 1897 so much so that they quietly started paying poor Jewish people to move to Palestine in the early 1900's to flood the region with Jewish people (First Zionist Congress, 1897).
      -
      For over 1,000 years, White Europeans expelled or murdered Jews. No one really wanted Jewish people in their own country so when the Zionists decided to steal land in Palestine in the 1890's, mostly White Americans and White Europeans conspired to help them.
      -
      Read Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua. Moses and the “Israelites” were nothing but a raging and violent army that killed people and stole land.
      -
      That 40 years "wandering in the wilderness" nonsense ... yeah, that time was used to murder boys and kidnap girls to build an army (Numbers 31:1-18).
      ---
      Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves. (Numbers 31:1-18).

    • @kf9926
      @kf9926 Рік тому

      But the Canaanites were African

    • @saikrishnak8631
      @saikrishnak8631 Рік тому +2

      @@kf9926 nah , they were semitic

    • @kf9926
      @kf9926 Рік тому

      @@saikrishnak8631 read the bible and the Talmud Canaan is descended from ham. Black Africans ?

    • @katnisseverdeen4ever
      @katnisseverdeen4ever Рік тому +1

      There are no 'rightful people,' that's just ethnonationalism. However, definitely the descendants of the Judeans and Israelites; the Jews. But everyone should be allowed to live there, no discrimination.

  • @alisoncleeton877
    @alisoncleeton877 Рік тому +1

    Amazing!👍

  • @tigertiger1699
    @tigertiger1699 Рік тому +5

    The pizzle pieces our knowledge is built on

  • @MelioraCogito
    @MelioraCogito Рік тому +2

    This is what I love about the BBC.

  • @angelehachey9880
    @angelehachey9880 Рік тому +3

    When i was a child i was taught to glue clay pieces back together by using Carnation Milk. It dries transparent or clear and if the piece is dropped afterwards, it will break elsewhere but never at the glue site. FYI

  • @zimnizzle
    @zimnizzle Рік тому +2

    The letter Q is a monkey body with a tail? AMAZING. I love tidbits like this.

  • @ΜαριάνθηΖάβαλη
    @ΜαριάνθηΖάβαλη Рік тому +6

    Πολύ καλό βίντεο!!!Να είστε πάντα καλά με υγεία!!!+++🛐☦️💒🇬🇷🙋🤍👋🌹👍

  • @jishcatg
    @jishcatg Рік тому +1

    I wonder what other artefacts have writing on them that has been unnoticed so far.