What is Undeciphered writing system?
[[File:PhaistosDiskLarge.jpg|thumb|The symbols on the [[Phaistos disc]] are still unknown.]] An '''undeciphered writing system''' is a written form of [[language]] that is currently not understood. In this context, a writing system is used to mean a series of [[glyph]]s; these glyphs may represent [[writing]] in a [[language]]. However, this is not known until they are deciphered. Not being able to decipher a text can have several reasons: * The language may be a [[language isolate]] (there are few or no similar languages that still exist) * There may be very few texts in the given language * What is considered a text in a language really is not: it may just be decorations, but the symbols have no semantic meaning. There is also the concept of [[false writing system]]s: these are constructed sets of symbols that are meant to represent a writing system, but that do not. == Examples == * [[Vinča script]], from 7th or 8th century BC Europe * [[Dispilio Tablet]], from Western Macedonia, Greece, 6th century BC * [[Phaistos disc]], from 2nd century BC Crete. * [[Southwest Paleohispanic script]], found on the [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian peninsula]], about 700 BC * [[Sitovo inscription]] from Bulgaria * [[Cascajal Block]], Olmec civilization, about 9th century * [[Numidian language]] - the script has been almost entirely deciphered, but the language is unknown. * [[Rongorongo]], inscriptions from [[Easter Island]] * The [[Voynich manuscript]], 15th century * [[Singapore Stone]] * [[Newton Stone]], considered to be a forgery, by many {{stub}} [[Category:Writing systems]]