Translations scribbled on the back of a Spanish author's letter. Photograph courtesy Jeffrey Quil
Posted on 08/27/2010 7:38:28 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
...The early 17th-century author had translated Spanish numbers -- uno, dos, tres -- and Arabic numerals into a mysterious language never seen by modern scholars...
...said project leader Jeffrey Quilter... The newfound native language may have borrowed from Quechua, a language still spoken by indigenous peoples of Peru... But it was clearly a unique tongue, and likely one of two known only by the mention of their names in contemporary texts: Quingnam and Pescadora -- "language of the fishers."
Some scholars suggest the two are in fact the same tongue that had been misidentified as distinct languages by early Spanish scribes.
Also, the writings include translated numbers, which means that the lost language's numerical system was a ten-based, or decimal system -- like English.
While the Inca used a ten-based system, many other cultures did not: the Maya, for example, used a base of 20, according to Quilter.
The letter was found during excavations of the Magdalena de Cao Viejo church at the El Brujo Archaeological Complex in northern Peru...
The tantalizing fragment is just one of hundreds of historic papers recovered at the site, which has been well preserved by the extremely arid climate -- and also by the church's collapse...
The Spanish colonialists "had the misfortune of having the church collapse -- we think probably in the mid-to-late 17th century -- which trapped the library or office where they kept their papers."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
Translations scribbled on the back of a Spanish author's letter. Photograph courtesy Jeffrey Quil
Very, very interesting!
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To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. |
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This is interesting. Too bad there aren’t more clues around to clear the picture of history in the Americas. If only the walls could talk. I think there would be some shocking revelations.
Thanks!
bigheadfred and I may be the only ones here on FR interested in this subject. I have long been interested in language groups as they are often the true identifier of a peoples origin.
I’m interested in a lot of things historical. Thought about learning some Spanish until it became mandatory. My main interest is in early Mesopotamian cultures.
Languages which the world no longer needs would certainly include Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Italian, Korean, Dutch, all Indian state languages, all African languages, all Australian aboriginal languages, all Polynesian languages, and generally the bulk of the world's present languages. Making a child learn any of those languages is basically child abuse and could certainly in no wise be viewed as preparing him or her for life in the modern world.
You are not alone. I’ve been reading books and assorted info on the ‘Jaguar-Snake-Staff God’ cultures in Peru/Chile/Altoplano/Bolivia, for years.
The Pescedora might have been the last indigenous culture in coastal (modern northern Chile/Peru) , because they simply didn’t go to war... they were too busy fishing.
U of Pennsylvania.
Where were the two of you when I started my “bison in Illinois earlier than thought” topic? ;’)
If you think Korean is on the outs, you've obviously never been to Korea and have known few Koreans. Hangul is the only east-Asian language with a phonetic alphabet, and it's one of the primary sources of Korean pride. It will not be allowed to simply lapse into obscurity. It's also far easier for westerners to learn than Mandarin or Japanese.
Oh no!!! I missed that one!.
Count me in as well...I do work in Native American linguistics. Finding a lost word-list like this is pure gold.
I’m interested! I have my MA in Linguistics.
Simple. It is ancient.
Thanks!
A Rosetta letter?
Rosetta broke it off in a letter, she wrote that she was leaving and that her life would be better...
If nothing else, having a national language that outsiders don't understand can come in handy sometimes. Having a national identity is also of value. For one thing, if newcomers have to learn Finnish to live in Finland, there will be fewer immigrants to that country, which native Finns might regard as a good thing.
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