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1 IN ODYSSEUS'S WAKE 1 1 LOGOS 13 3 THE NEW LABYRINTH 47 4 THE SKEIN OF ARIADNE 65 S "HEAR YE, CRETANS AND GREEKS!" 93 6 THE BATTLE OF NAXOS 119 7 RAPANUI 139 8 TALKI NG BOARDS OF TH E PACI FIC 153 9 ATOP TERE VAKA 167 10 "ALL THE BIRDS ... " 187 11 SURFING THE RONGORONGO 205 Suggested Reading 223 Index 227 A "glyph" (short for hieroglyph) is a sign in a script. And a "breaker" is a person who cracks a script's code. A "glyph breaker" is then a decipherer, someone who lets us read the unreadable, that linguistic magician who gives voice to the mute past. Until 1984 no one had been able to read Crete's 3600-year old Phaistos Disk, Europe's earliest literature and greatest written enigma. Until 1994 no one could make sense of Easter Island's mysterious Iongorongo writing, Oceania's only script predating the twentieth century. No one had ever deciphered two wholly different historical scripts before. Until now. This is the true story of these two achievements.
List of contents
1 In Odysseus's Wake.- 2 Logos.- 3 The New Labyrinth.- 4 The Skein of Ariadne.- 5 "Hear Ye, Cretans and Greeks!".- 6 The Battle of Naxos.- 7 Rapanui.- 8 Talking Boards of the Pacific.- 9 Atop Tere Vaka.- 10 "All The Birds ...".- 11 Surfing the Rongorongo.- Suggested Reading.
About the author
Steven Roger Fischer studierte Sprachwissenschaft in Neuseeland und an der Universität Heidelberg. Einige Jahre lang arbeitete er als freier Redakteur in Meersburg. Heute ist er Leiter des Instituts für Polynesische Sprachen und Literaturen an der Universität Auckland, Neuseeland. Er entzifferte die rongorongo-Schrift der Osterinseln und den Diskos von Phaistos.
Report
"...provides a step-by step account of how (Fischer) cracked this code, proceeding with the utmost care and objectivity, constantly modifying and improving his method, and gradually filling in the blanks." New Scientist
