language or tradition
Akkadian
An East Semitic language recorded in cuneiform, including Babylonian and Assyrian varieties.
- Region
- Mesopotamia
- Evidence
- Third to first millennia BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
Language evidence
Attested languages
A growing register of attested ancient and early historical language traditions. “Language” can denote a documented language, a historical variety, or an undeciphered corpus whose linguistic identity remains uncertain; each entry says which. A finite list cannot yet claim every attested language: discoveries, names and language–dialect boundaries change. Script names are kept distinct from languages.
language or tradition
Ammonite
A Canaanite language represented by inscriptions from the Ammon region.
- Region
- Transjordan
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Northwest Semitic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
fragmentary language evidence
Amorite
Known chiefly through Northwest Semitic personal names and expressions embedded in Akkadian records; no extensive continuous corpus.
- Region
- Syria and Mesopotamia
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Chiefly names and expressions in cuneiform records
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
group or project
Anatolian
A family-level entry for Luwian, Lycian, Lydian, Carian, Palaic, Pisidian and Sidetic; Hittite has its own site.
- Region
- Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second and first millennia BCE; varies by language
- Writing
- Cuneiform, hieroglyphic and local alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Ancient Greek
Classical and Koine Greek are distinct teaching tracks within this project.
- Region
- Aegean and eastern Mediterranean
- Evidence
- First-millennium BCE through late antiquity
- Writing
- Greek alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Arabic
The planned site concerns historical Arabic texts, grammar and manuscript traditions.
- Region
- Arabian Peninsula and Near East
- Evidence
- Late antique and later written traditions
- Writing
- Arabic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Aramaic
A long-lived Northwest Semitic continuum; Mandaic is included as a separate track.
- Region
- Syria, Mesopotamia and wider Near East
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE onward
- Writing
- Aramaic-derived alphabets
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Armenian
A distinct Indo-European language with an early medieval written tradition.
- Region
- Armenian Highlands
- Evidence
- Early medieval and later texts
- Writing
- Armenian alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Avestan
Avestan is preserved in Zoroastrian textual traditions; manuscript dates are later than the language of the compositions.
- Region
- Iranian religious tradition
- Evidence
- Ancient Iranian language; manuscripts transmitted later
- Writing
- Avestan alphabet in surviving manuscripts
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Bactrian
An Eastern Iranian language written in a Greek-derived script.
- Region
- Bactria
- Evidence
- First millennium CE
- Writing
- Greek-derived alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Biblical Hebrew
The site focuses on Biblical Hebrew and its textual and grammatical traditions.
- Region
- Southern Levant
- Evidence
- First-millennium BCE and later textual traditions
- Writing
- Paleo-Hebrew and square Hebrew scripts
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
group or project
Canaanite
An umbrella entry for Moabite, Ammonite and Edomite inscriptions.
- Region
- Southern Levant
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE inscriptions
- Writing
- Northwest Semitic alphabets
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Carian
An Anatolian language attested in local inscriptions and inscriptions found in Egypt.
- Region
- Southwestern Anatolia and Egypt
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Carian alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Celtiberian
A continental Celtic language attested in inscriptions.
- Region
- Iberian Peninsula
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Celtiberian and Latin scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
group or project
Celtic
A family entry covering named ancient and early medieval Celtic traditions.
- Region
- Western and central Europe
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE and later evidence
- Writing
- Several alphabets and Ogham
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Chinese
The intended site will treat historical Chinese writing and texts by period.
- Region
- China
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE onward
- Writing
- Han characters
- Family
- Sino-Tibetan
language
Chorasmian
An Eastern Iranian language documented in documents, inscriptions and later texts.
- Region
- Khwarazm, lower Amu Darya
- Evidence
- Roman period through medieval evidence
- Writing
- Chorasmian scripts
- Family
- Indo-European · Iranian
language or tradition
Classic Maya
The site will distinguish deciphered Classic Maya texts from modern editorial reconstruction.
- Region
- Mesoamerica
- Evidence
- Classic-period and later inscriptions
- Writing
- Maya hieroglyphic writing
- Family
- Mayan
language or tradition
Coptic
The latest historical stage of the Egyptian language, written chiefly in the Coptic alphabet.
- Region
- Egypt
- Evidence
- Late antique and later manuscripts
- Writing
- Coptic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Egyptian
language or tradition
Cretan Hieroglyphic
A Bronze Age Cretan writing system; its language has not been securely identified.
- Region
- Crete
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cretan Hieroglyphic; undeciphered
- Family
- Undeciphered / unidentified
language / script label
Dadanitic
An oasis inscriptional tradition; the label names both its script and the language variety in the texts.
- Region
- Dadan oasis, northwestern Arabia
- Evidence
- Mainly first millennium BCE
- Writing
- Ancient North Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Eblaite
The Ebla archives preserve an East Semitic language distinct from Akkadian.
- Region
- Ebla, northern Syria
- Evidence
- Third millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Edomite
A Canaanite language represented by a limited inscriptional record.
- Region
- Southern Levant
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Northwest Semitic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Egyptian Hieroglyphic
The site centres on Middle Egyptian and hieroglyphic reading within the longer history of Egyptian.
- Region
- Nile Valley
- Evidence
- Late fourth millennium BCE to late antiquity
- Writing
- Egyptian hieroglyphs; related hieratic and demotic scripts
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Egyptian
language or tradition
Elamite
Elamite is attested in southwestern Iran, including later Achaemenid multilingual inscriptions.
- Region
- Southwestern Iran
- Evidence
- Third to first millennia BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform; earlier local writing requires separate treatment
- Family
- Language isolate / unclassified
language
Eteocretan
Greek-letter inscriptions from Praisos and Dreros record a non-Greek language; a link to Bronze Age Cretan scripts is unproven.
- Region
- Eastern Crete
- Evidence
- Seventh to third centuries BCE
- Writing
- Greek alphabet
- Family
- Unclassified
language
Eteocypriot
A local non-Greek language in readable syllabic signs, but the surviving inscriptions remain linguistically undeciphered.
- Region
- Cyprus, especially Amathus
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cypro-syllabic script
- Family
- Unclassified
language or tradition
Etruscan
An ancient language of Italy known mainly through inscriptions.
- Region
- Central Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Etruscan alphabet (Old Italic)
- Family
- Language isolate / unclassified
language or tradition
Faliscan
An Italic language attested in inscriptions near Rome.
- Region
- Central Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Italic alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Gāndhārī
Early Buddhist scrolls and documents preserve Gāndhārī in Kharoṣṭhī script.
- Region
- Gandhāra and neighbouring regions
- Evidence
- First century BCE to fourth century CE manuscripts
- Writing
- Kharoṣṭhī
- Family
- Indo-European · Middle Indo-Aryan
language or tradition
Gaulish
A continental Celtic language known from inscriptions and names.
- Region
- Gaul
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE into Roman period
- Writing
- Greek and Latin alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Geʽez
Geʽez is a classical Ethiopian Semitic language with a continuing manuscript tradition.
- Region
- Ethiopia and Eritrea
- Evidence
- Ancient and medieval written traditions
- Writing
- Ethiopic script
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
group or project
Germanic
A family-level comparative entry; Gothic, Old English and Old Norse have separate pages.
- Region
- Northern Europe
- Evidence
- Ancient and medieval evidence; varies by language
- Writing
- Runic and Latin scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Gothic
An East Germanic language known chiefly from biblical manuscript witnesses.
- Region
- Eastern Europe and Mediterranean
- Evidence
- Late antique evidence
- Writing
- Gothic alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Hadramitic
An Ancient South Arabian inscriptional language represented in the DASI corpus.
- Region
- Hadramawt, South Arabia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE to early centuries CE
- Writing
- Ancient South Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Hattic
Preserved episodically in Hittite ritual texts, where it had a liturgical role.
- Region
- Central Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE copies
- Writing
- Cuneiform in Hittite archives
- Family
- Unclassified
corpus and script label
Hismaic inscriptions
Hismaic names a script and inscriptional corpus; linguistic classification must be established from individual texts.
- Region
- Ḥismā desert, Jordan and Arabia
- Evidence
- Late first millennium BCE to late antiquity
- Writing
- Hismaic alphabet
- Family
- Arabic / Ancient North Arabian varieties
language or tradition
Hittite
An Indo-European language preserved in the Hattusa tablet archives and related finds.
- Region
- Central Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Hurrian & Urartian
Hurrian and related Urartian have distinct corpora and periods.
- Region
- Northern Mesopotamia and eastern Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second and first millennia BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Hurro-Urartian
language
Iberian
A non-Indo-European inscriptional language written in several regional graphic variants.
- Region
- Eastern Iberian Peninsula and Mediterranean Gaul
- Evidence
- Sixth to first centuries BCE
- Writing
- Palaeohispanic scripts and Greek alphabet
- Family
- Unclassified / non-Indo-European
historical variety
Imperial Aramaic
The administrative written variety associated with Achaemenid imperial communication.
- Region
- Achaemenid territories
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Imperial Aramaic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
group or project
Indo-European
A comparative family overview; no single location, date or writing system represents it.
- Region
- Many regions of Eurasia
- Evidence
- Comparative research, not a single corpus
- Writing
- Multiple scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
undeciphered corpus
Indus Script
A corpus of short sign sequences, especially on seals; no reading of the script is established.
- Region
- Indus region, northwestern South Asia
- Evidence
- Third to second millennia BCE
- Writing
- Indus signs; undeciphered
- Family
- Undeciphered / unidentified
group or project
Iranian
A group entry for Sogdian, Khotanese and Bactrian alongside separate Avestan and Old Persian projects.
- Region
- Iran and Central Asia
- Evidence
- Ancient and medieval evidence; varies by language
- Writing
- Multiple scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
group or project
Italic
A group entry for Oscan, Umbrian, Faliscan and South Picene.
- Region
- Italian peninsula
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE inscriptions
- Writing
- Old Italic and Latin alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Jurchen
A historic Tungusic language written with large and small Jurchen scripts.
- Region
- Northeastern China
- Evidence
- Medieval Jin-period evidence
- Writing
- Jurchen scripts
- Family
- Tungusic
language
Khitan
Khitan funerary and other texts survive in two only partly deciphered scripts.
- Region
- Northern China and Inner Asia
- Evidence
- Tenth to thirteenth centuries CE
- Writing
- Khitan Large and Small Scripts
- Family
- Mongolic-related; exact placement debated
language or tradition
Khotanese
An Eastern Iranian language preserved in Central Asian manuscripts.
- Region
- Southern Tarim Basin
- Evidence
- First millennium CE
- Writing
- Brahmi-derived script
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Latin
Latin writing and literature developed across the Roman world and later traditions.
- Region
- Italian peninsula and Roman world
- Evidence
- First-millennium BCE onward
- Writing
- Latin alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Lemnian
A small inscriptional corpus is closely related to Etruscan and Raetic.
- Region
- Lemnos, northern Aegean
- Evidence
- Sixth century BCE
- Writing
- Greek-derived local alphabet
- Family
- Tyrsenian / non-Indo-European
language or tradition
Lepontic
An early Celtic inscriptional language of the Alpine region.
- Region
- Alpine northern Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Italic alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
inscriptional language(s) / script label
Libyco-Berber inscriptions
The script records one or more related indigenous languages; the corpus is too short and dispersed to assume a single uniform variety.
- Region
- North Africa
- Evidence
- Classical-period inscriptions
- Writing
- Libyco-Berber alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Berber-related
language or tradition
Linear A
A Bronze Age Cretan script; proposed readings of its underlying language remain unconfirmed.
- Region
- Crete
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Linear A; undeciphered
- Family
- Undeciphered / unidentified
language or tradition
Linear B
Linear B records Mycenaean Greek in administrative tablets.
- Region
- Crete and mainland Greece
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Linear B syllabary
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Luwian
An Anatolian Indo-European language represented in more than one writing tradition.
- Region
- Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second and first millennia BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform and Anatolian hieroglyphs
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Lycian
An Anatolian language known chiefly from inscriptions.
- Region
- Southwestern Anatolia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Lycian alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Lydian
An Anatolian language preserved in a small inscriptional corpus.
- Region
- Western Anatolia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Lydian alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Mandaic
An Eastern Aramaic language with a distinct alphabet and religious textual tradition.
- Region
- Southern Mesopotamia
- Evidence
- Late antique and later texts
- Writing
- Mandaic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Meroitic
A language of the kingdom of Kush recorded in two related scripts.
- Region
- Nile Valley, northern Sudan
- Evidence
- Late first millennium BCE to early first millennium CE
- Writing
- Meroitic hieroglyphic and cursive scripts
- Family
- Language isolate / unclassified
language
Messapic
An inscriptional language of ancient Apulia; the language and alphabet vary across the recorded region.
- Region
- Apulia, southern Italy
- Evidence
- Sixth to second centuries BCE
- Writing
- Messapic alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European; subgroup debated
language stage
Middle Persian
The Western Middle Iranian language of Sasanian inscriptions and later Zoroastrian books; spelling can obscure linguistic variation.
- Region
- Iran
- Evidence
- Sasanian and later evidence
- Writing
- Inscriptional and Book Pahlavi
- Family
- Indo-European · Iranian
language
Minaic
Known from inscriptions in South Arabia and at trading locations beyond the Minaean homeland.
- Region
- South Arabia and trade routes
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Ancient South Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
group or project
Minoan
A project about two Bronze Age Cretan writing systems whose underlying languages remain undeciphered.
- Region
- Crete
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Linear A and Cretan Hieroglyphic
- Family
- Undeciphered / unidentified
language or tradition
Moabite
A Canaanite language known from inscriptions, notably the Mesha Stele.
- Region
- Transjordan
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Northwest Semitic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
historical variety
Nabataean Aramaic
A regional Aramaic written tradition of the Nabataean kingdom, distinct from Arabic texts in the same region.
- Region
- Petra and surrounding regions
- Evidence
- Late first millennium BCE to late antiquity
- Writing
- Nabataean alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
writing system
Ogham
A writing system, not a language, especially associated with early Irish inscriptions.
- Region
- Ireland and Britain
- Evidence
- Early medieval inscriptions
- Writing
- Ogham script
- Family
- Writing system, not a language
historical variety
Old Aramaic
An early epigraphic stage in the long Aramaic written continuum.
- Region
- Syria and the Levant
- Evidence
- Early first millennium BCE
- Writing
- Early Aramaic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Old Church Slavonic
The earliest substantial written Slavic tradition.
- Region
- Southeastern Europe
- Evidence
- Early medieval manuscripts
- Writing
- Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets
- Family
- Slavic
language or tradition
Old English
The early medieval English language as represented by manuscripts and inscriptions.
- Region
- England
- Evidence
- Early medieval manuscripts
- Writing
- Latin alphabet; some runic evidence
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Old Irish
A medieval Celtic language; Ogham inscriptions reflect an earlier Irish stage.
- Region
- Ireland
- Evidence
- Early medieval manuscripts
- Writing
- Latin alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language stage
Old Japanese
An early documented stage of Japanese, especially studied through eighth-century poetry and other texts.
- Region
- Japan
- Evidence
- Eighth century CE texts
- Writing
- Chinese characters used for Japanese writing
- Family
- Japonic
language stage
Old Korean
A historical stage reconstructed from limited early written evidence; the relation of writing and speech requires care.
- Region
- Korean Peninsula
- Evidence
- Early medieval evidence
- Writing
- Chinese characters adapted to Korean
- Family
- Koreanic
language or tradition
Old Norse
A North Germanic textual tradition with runic and manuscript evidence.
- Region
- Scandinavia and North Atlantic
- Evidence
- Early medieval and medieval evidence
- Writing
- Runic and Latin alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Old Nubian
An early written Nubian language with manuscripts and documentary texts; its alphabet adapted Coptic signs and added others.
- Region
- Middle Nile Valley
- Evidence
- Late eighth century CE onward
- Writing
- Coptic-derived Old Nubian alphabet
- Family
- Nubian
language or tradition
Old Persian
Royal inscriptions provide the main evidence for Old Persian.
- Region
- Iran and imperial inscription sites
- Evidence
- Achaemenid period, first millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Persian cuneiform
- Family
- Indo-European
language stage
Old Tamil
Old Tamil is an early documented stage of the Tamil language with inscriptional and literary evidence.
- Region
- Southern India
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE and early centuries CE
- Writing
- Tamil-Brāhmī and later Tamil writing
- Family
- Dravidian
language or tradition
Old Turkic
The Orkhon inscriptions are central witnesses to early written Turkic.
- Region
- Central Asia and Mongolia
- Evidence
- Early medieval inscriptions
- Writing
- Old Turkic runiform script
- Family
- Turkic
language or tradition
Old Welsh
An early Brythonic written stage preceding Middle Welsh.
- Region
- Wales
- Evidence
- Early medieval evidence
- Writing
- Latin alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Oscan
An Italic language attested in inscriptions.
- Region
- Central and southern Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Italic and Latin alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Palaic
An Anatolian language known from a limited cuneiform corpus.
- Region
- North-central Anatolia
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Indo-European
historical variety
Palmyrene Aramaic
A Western Aramaic epigraphic variety associated with Palmyra.
- Region
- Palmyra, Syria
- Evidence
- Roman-period inscriptions
- Writing
- Palmyrene alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Parthian
A Western Middle Iranian language attested in inscriptions and later textual traditions.
- Region
- Iran and Central Asia
- Evidence
- Late first millennium BCE to early medieval
- Writing
- Parthian scripts
- Family
- Indo-European · Iranian
language or tradition
Phoenician & Punic
Phoenician and its Punic continuation are treated through inscriptions and script history.
- Region
- Levant and western Mediterranean
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE and later Punic evidence
- Writing
- Phoenician and Punic alphabets
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Phrygian
Early and late inscriptions represent distinct phases; much of the surviving text is short and formulaic.
- Region
- Central Anatolia
- Evidence
- Eighth century BCE to third century CE
- Writing
- Phrygian and Greek alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Pisidian
A sparsely attested Anatolian language.
- Region
- Southern Anatolia
- Evidence
- First millennium CE evidence
- Writing
- Greek-derived alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
group or project
Prakrit
A cover term for several Middle Indo-Aryan literary and inscriptional languages.
- Region
- South Asia
- Evidence
- Ancient and medieval evidence; varies by variety
- Writing
- Brahmi and descendant scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
reconstruction
Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European is reconstructed from comparison, not directly attested in an ancient manuscript.
- Region
- No attested single locality
- Evidence
- Reconstructed prehistoric language; no direct texts
- Writing
- No attested script
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Punic
The western Mediterranean continuation of Phoenician.
- Region
- Western Mediterranean
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE and later
- Writing
- Punic alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Qatabanic
An Ancient South Arabian inscriptional language represented in the DASI corpus.
- Region
- South Arabia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE to early centuries CE
- Writing
- Ancient South Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Raetic
Short Alpine inscriptions show a language usually grouped with Etruscan and Lemnian.
- Region
- Eastern Alps
- Evidence
- Fifth to first centuries BCE
- Writing
- Raetic alphabets
- Family
- Tyrsenian / non-Indo-European
language
Sabaic
One of the principal written languages of the Ancient South Arabian inscriptional corpus.
- Region
- South Arabia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE to late antiquity
- Writing
- Ancient South Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
corpus and script label
Safaitic inscriptions
Safaitic names a script and corpus; texts reflect ancient Arabic and related varieties, so it is not a single unproblematic language name.
- Region
- Syro-Arabian desert
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE to early centuries CE
- Writing
- Safaitic alphabet
- Family
- Arabic / Ancient North Arabian varieties
language or tradition
Sanskrit
An Indo-Aryan literary language with Vedic, grammatical and later classical traditions.
- Region
- South Asia
- Evidence
- Vedic and later textual traditions
- Writing
- Brahmi-derived scripts and earlier oral transmission
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Sidetic
A limited corpus of coins and inscriptions from the Side region.
- Region
- Southern Anatolia
- Evidence
- Fifth to second centuries BCE
- Writing
- Sidetic alphabet; incompletely deciphered
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Sogdian
An Eastern Iranian language with a diverse manuscript and inscriptional record.
- Region
- Central Asia
- Evidence
- First millennium CE
- Writing
- Sogdian and other scripts
- Family
- Indo-European
group or project
South Arabian
A group of ancient South Arabian languages known principally from inscriptions.
- Region
- Southern Arabian Peninsula
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE and later inscriptions
- Writing
- Ancient South Arabian script
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
South Picene
A Sabellian inscriptional language of ancient Italy.
- Region
- Adriatic central Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Italic alphabet
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Sumerian
A language of southern Mesopotamia with a long written and scholarly tradition.
- Region
- Southern Mesopotamia
- Evidence
- Late fourth to first millennia BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Language isolate / unclassified
language or tradition
Syriac
A literary form of Aramaic with several manuscript and script traditions.
- Region
- Upper Mesopotamia and Levant
- Evidence
- Late antique and later textual traditions
- Writing
- Syriac alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language
Tangut
The language of the Western Xia state is preserved in a large historic siniform writing system.
- Region
- Northwestern China
- Evidence
- Eleventh to sixteenth centuries CE
- Writing
- Tangut script
- Family
- Sino-Tibetan
language / script label
Taymanitic
A local inscriptional tradition; it should not be silently merged with all Ancient North Arabian writing.
- Region
- Taymāʾ, northwestern Arabia
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Ancient North Arabian alphabet
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Tibetan
Historical Tibetan texts are preserved in a Brahmi-derived script.
- Region
- Tibetan Plateau
- Evidence
- Early medieval and later textual traditions
- Writing
- Tibetan script
- Family
- Sino-Tibetan
language or tradition
Tocharian
Tocharian A and B are separate Indo-European languages attested in Central Asian manuscripts.
- Region
- Northern Tarim Basin
- Evidence
- First millennium CE manuscripts
- Writing
- Brahmi-derived Tocharian script
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Tocharian A
One of the two attested Tocharian languages.
- Region
- Northern Tarim Basin
- Evidence
- First millennium CE manuscripts
- Writing
- Brahmi-derived Tocharian script
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Tocharian B
One of the two attested Tocharian languages.
- Region
- Northern Tarim Basin
- Evidence
- First millennium CE manuscripts
- Writing
- Brahmi-derived Tocharian script
- Family
- Indo-European
language
Tumshuqese
A Middle Iranian language related to Khotanese, preserved in a small manuscript corpus.
- Region
- Northern Tarim Basin
- Evidence
- First millennium CE manuscripts
- Writing
- Northern Brāhmī-derived script
- Family
- Indo-European · Iranian
language or tradition
Ugaritic
Northwest Semitic texts survive from the Late Bronze Age city of Ugarit.
- Region
- Ugarit, northern Levant
- Evidence
- Second millennium BCE
- Writing
- Alphabetic cuneiform
- Family
- Afroasiatic · Semitic
language or tradition
Umbrian
An Italic language notably represented by the Iguvine Tables.
- Region
- Central Italy
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Old Italic and Latin alphabets
- Family
- Indo-European
language or tradition
Urartian
A language related to Hurrian, attested especially in royal inscriptions.
- Region
- Lake Van region
- Evidence
- First millennium BCE
- Writing
- Cuneiform
- Family
- Hurro-Urartian
language
Venetic
Hundreds of inscriptions document a pre-Roman language of the Veneto area.
- Region
- Northeastern Italy and neighbouring Alpine areas
- Evidence
- Sixth to first centuries BCE
- Writing
- Venetic alphabet derived from Old Italic
- Family
- Indo-European
No matching entry. Try a broader term.
The project-site list and this evidence directory serve different purposes. Most entries here have no dedicated Language Help site yet. Corrections and additions can be sent through the contact page.