Glyphbreaker

Steven R. Fischer

ISBN 10: 0387982418 / ISBN 13: 9780387982410

Published by Springer-Verlag New York Inc., United States, New York, NY, 1997

About this Item

After successfully deciphering the Rongorongo script of Easter Island, Steven Roger Fischer gained a unique place in the pantheon of glyphbreakers: he is the only person to have deciphered not one but two ancient scripts. Both of these scripts yield clues of great historical importance. Fischers previous decipherment, of a Cretan artefact called the Phaistos Disk, provided the key to the ancient Minoan language and showed it to be closely related to Mycenaean Greek. Fischer's decipherment of Rongorongo shows that it was not merely a mnemonic device for recalling memorised texts, but was actually read and used for creative composition. This is the exciting story of these two decipherments, by the man who now must rank as the greatest glyphbreaker of all time. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Seller Inventory # GOR001966915

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Glyphbreaker
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag New York Inc., United States, New York, NY
• Publication Date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0387982418
• ISBN 13: 9780387982410
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: Very Good
• Weight: 535 grams

About this title

Synopsis

After successfully deciphering the Rongorongo script of Easter Island, Steven Roger Fischer gained a unique place in the pantheon of glyphbreakers: he is the only person to have deciphered not one but two ancient scripts. Both of these scripts yield clues of great historical importance. Fischers previous decipherment, of a Cretan artefact called the Phaistos Disk, provided the key to the ancient Minoan language and showed it to be closely related to Mycenaean Greek. Fischer's decipherment of Rongorongo shows that it was not merely a mnemonic device for recalling memorised texts, but was actually read and used for creative composition. This is the exciting story of these two decipherments, by the man who now must rank as the greatest glyphbreaker of all time.

About the Author

Steven Roger Fischer is Director of the Institute of Polynesian Languages and Literatures, Auckland, New Zealand. He is the first person ever who deciphered two wholly different historical scripts. Glyphbreaker is his eighth book.