Unknown language discovered: Geographic and cultural background of 2800 year old clay tablets found at Tušhan

Link to source article @ world-archaeology.com


"Cambridge University archaeologists today (May 10) announced the discovery of a previously unknown 2,500-year-old language in Turkey – as reported in CWA 50."



"project leader Dr John MacGinnis described how a single clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform characters was found at Ziyaret Tepe – thought to be the ancient Assyrian city of Tušhan."

The captured city of Tušhan within the Armenian Kingdom of Ararat surrounding Nairi Sea (Lake Van), the kingdom was known to Assyrians by the name Urartu

It is a list of women, written in Assyrian cuneiform, yet most of the names are not Assyrian. One is Hittite, one Hurrian, but most do not belong to any known language.

Could these women be either descendants of the indigenous (Shubrian) pre-Assyrian population, or deportees brought in by the Assyrian government? As Shubrian is thought to be a dialect of Hurrian, the latter explanation seems more likely. A current theory is that these women were most likely speakers of a non-Indo-Iranian language, deported from the Zagros in western Iran.

The new research, published in the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, reports that all the common languages of the Assyrian Empire – as well as others spoken at the time such as Egyptian, Elamite, Urartian and West Semitic – have been ruled out.
One theory put forward in the paper is the one proposed by Dr MacGinnis in CWA: that the names could be Shubrian – a language which until now was believed never to have been written down. 


Another option is the language of the Mushki, a people who were migrating to Eastern Anatolia at the time the tablet was made – though this is described as ‘less plausible’.

Dr MacGinnis suggests that the language was spoken by people from elsewhere in the Assyrian Empire who had been forcibly relocated by the ruling powers. This was a popular tactic by Assyrian kings, as it helped to break the control of local elites. ‘If people were deported to a new location, they were entirely dependent on the Assyrian administration for their wellbeing,’ he said.

One possibility for the origin of these people is the Zagros Mountains, an area known to have been annexed by the Assyrians but for which no language has yet been identified.

Tantalisingly, one Assyrian king, Esarhaddon, refers to an as-yet unidentified language, Mekhranian, which he links to the Zagros.

‘If correct, this suggests that Iran was home to previously unknown languages,’ Dr MacGinnis said. ‘The immediate impression is that the names on this tablet were those of women who belonged to an isolated community. It may be, however, that there were others whom we still have to find out about.’

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Dear visitor,

The purpose of this page is to provide an open space for honest individuals and academics to furnish their thoughts on the origins of human culture with special focus on Indo-European subjects.

This page openly advocates the Armenian Hypothesis; the thesis that the Armenian Highland is the original homeland of Indo European people and languages.

Advancement of other theories is also welcomed.

Visitors may discuss the contents freely but within respectful boundaries.

The Armenian Hypothesis has concrete support in various academic disciplines such as archeology, modern linguistic analysis as well as genetic sciences.

It is only fair to remind the reader, that the geographic span of what is known as Armenian Highlands is between the three great upland lakes Van, Sevan, Urmia in the middle of which stands majestic Mount Ararat and its fertile plains. Sometimes the boundaries of Armenia naturally extended towards the Black Sea, Mediterranean and the Caspian.


We have to ask the visitor that while discussing such topics, one should always refer to the region as Armenia-Hayasdan and no other approximations are justified such as north Mesopotamia, East Anatolia, South Caucasus or Levant.
The people living there were Armenians speaking Armenian and living as Armenians.
We don't need to invent many names only to avoid using the word Armenia. Such an attitude will also facilitate our task in understanding the past, because there will be much less confusion.

The Armenian Empire during the reign of Armenian King Tigran the Great, 69BC

This unique geographic position allowed Armenia to be a nation builder, giving rise to great centers of civilizations in Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent, Anatolia and the Caucasus. Armenia exchanged with these cultures farming and domestication knowledge, arts, languages, architecture, metallurgy and much more.

But every blessing  comes with a curse, this unique position also puts Armenia in the middle of great worldly powers. In 1915, after the defeat of eastern Turks by European powers, the Ottoman Turks annihilated 1.5 million Western Armenians residing in their age-old homeland since times immemorial. They have perished, along with their cultural and genetic traces. Any traces of their monuments have fallen under the hands of the Turks who even to this day do not mention the word Armenia whatsoever their Churches, Temples, Fortresses and places of residence.

Sent on death marches towards the scorching Syrian desert, some Armenians survived and spread their descendants all around the world except for their native homeland where until today they remain exiled but ever determined to protect their homeland and identity. Eastern Armenia finally emerged as an independent state after long years of Soviet assimilation.

Now, Armenia tells the world about its hidden and ancient story, the will to Live Free, is much greater than the deadly strikes of tyranny.


For further readings on the Armenian Highlands
Please visit:
http://www.armenianhighland.com

This page has no affiliation with the authors of the mentioned website, however it is a very well researched repository that even dares to venture beyond mainstream thoughts and touches the subtle psyho-spiritual aspects of Indo-European people.