Luwian Hieroglyphs: An Indigenous Anatolian Syllabic Script from 3500 Years Ago

Petra Goedegebuure
Associate Professor of Hittitology

Wednesday, February 3, 2016
7:00-8:00 pm
Breasted Hall of the Oriental Institute

The Oriental Institute Lecture Series organized by the University of Chicago brings notable scholars from around the country and abroad as they present on new breakthroughs, unique perspectives, and innovative research applications related to the Ancient Middle East.

Presented by Petra Goedegebuure, Associate Professor of Hittitology, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. Cuneiform writing on clay became wildly popular among the governing elites of the Ancient Near East. Although some societies, such as Egypt, only used cuneiform for their international correspondence, the Anatolians additionally adopted cuneiform for domestic use to write Hittite, Luwian, Hattic, and several other languages. But they also developed their own hieroglyphic script for inscriptions in Luwian only. Among other topics, this lecture explores where it came from, how widely it was used, and who could read it.

Image: Hieroglyphic Luwian Inscription OIM A27861 D-H

6:30-7:00 p.m. Pre Lecture Tour/Registration
7:00-8:00 p.m. Presentation and discussion
8:00-8:45 p.m. Reception

If you cannot attend a lecture in person, you can still watch full-length recorded lectures at your convenience on youtube.com/jameshenrybreasted.