Linear A uses the same counting marks you learned in Aegean Numbers: strokes, bars, circles and rayed circles. So you can read every whole number on a Linear A tablet today. But Linear A also has something Linear B lacks: signs for fractions.
Key idea
| Sign | Letter | Value | How sure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 𐝆 | J | 1/2 | accepted |
| 𐝃 | E | 1/4 | proposed |
| 𐝄 | F | 1/8 | proposed |
| 𐝇 | K | 1/10 | proposed |
| 𐝁 | B | 1/5 | proposed |
| 𐝂 | D | 1/6 | proposed |
| 𐝅 | H | 1/16? | uncertain |
| 𐝀 | A | 1/24? | uncertain |
| 𐝈 | L | ? | unknown |
How the values were found
Nobody can read a Linear A word for "half". The values come from arithmetic. Some lists end with a total (Ku-ro, the Total), so the entries must add up to it. When a list with fractions adds up only if J is one half, that is evidence for J. Scholars work through many lists this way. J fits again and again; the other values fit some lists and are disputed in others. Signs can also combine: JE is read as 3/4, if E is 1/4.
Why it works
Common mistake
Worked example: Add with J
- 3 J is 3 and a half; 1 J is 1 and a half.
- 3½ + 1½ = 5.
Answer: 5
Worked example: Read it
- Two bars and three strokes: 23.
- J adds one half.
Answer: 23½