Mind-Akademie 2026

How are writing systems born, and when and how do they die? We will explore this question using the example of Cypro-Minoan, an undeciphered writing system from the Late Bronze Age of Cyprus. From the fog of its origins on Crete through the roughly five hundred years of its existence, Cypro-Minoan managed to maintain a distinct identity in the face of its more powerful script neighbors (Egyptian hieroglyphs, cuneiform [Keilschrift], etc.), before it finally disappeared--or transformed-- into a new writing system, one which successfully managed to compete against various alphabetic scripts for another half-millennium.

We'll explore the various factors which made Cypro-Minoan unique, how it found an enduring home on Cyprus, and what lessons it might have for the writing systems we use today.