Table of Contents
The presenter claims that writing in Portugal did not begin when Rome brought Latin. Recorded history there, the presenter says, starts about two thousand years ago, yet carved signs are older. Speaking as neither an archaeologist nor a historian, the presenter argues that excavated finds are the only route into that earlier time. Across the Alentejo, the Algarve, and a neighboring slice of Spain, several systems appear. Researchers, the presenter says, call them scripts, not languages, because the marks are not bound to one spoken tongue, and they use the word sign because many marks do not match single sounds. Upright stones, named from Greek in English and called estelas in Portuguese, are placed around the eighth to sixth centuries before the common era. Some specialists are said to see only funeral symbolism, while other stones set the signs in alphabetic order. A museum in Almodovar is named as a place to compare the marks in Portuguese and English. The presenter is speaking about a southwestern tradition that is still unread.
Key points
- The presenter claims carved signs in Portugal are older than the Latin writing Rome brought.
- The presenter says these systems count as scripts, not languages, since the marks are not locked to one spoken tongue.
- The presenter says the symbols are signs, not letters, since many do not stand for one sound.
- Upright funeral stones are dated to about the eighth through sixth centuries before the common era.
- Some stones are said to list the signs in alphabetic order, while others may be ritual only.
- A museum in Almodovar is offered as a public place to study the marks.
Short quotes
And they can therefore help us understand history.
Prehistoric Portugal, Writing in Portugal Before Latin
He says their study can therefore help people understand history. Watch at 1:55
The writing system is considered a semi-syllabary with some of the signs representing syllables of a consonant and a following vowel sound.
Prehistoric Portugal, Writing in Portugal Before Latin
He says this script is a semi-syllabary, with some signs standing for a consonant plus a vowel. Watch at 5:23
an alphabet is called an abecedary.
Prehistoric Portugal, Writing in Portugal Before Latin
He names a practice alphabet, a full run of the signs, an abecedary. Watch at 8:01
Video by Prehistoric Portugal. Watch on YouTube.