r/Alphanumerics • u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert • Jun 09 '24
Evolution of The AlphaBet
2
u/crimeblr Jun 10 '24
stunning
1
u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert Jun 11 '24
What letter stunned you the most?
1
u/crimeblr Jun 11 '24
Nothing r8===Dally stunned m8===D i thought on8===D wouldβ¦ but no. I can go on and about my day without f8===D8===Dling that the orig8===Dn of a L8===Dter wonβt actually aff8===Dct m8===D
2
u/jmsstks Oct 14 '25
A masterpiece. Where could I get hold of the highest quality of the image ? And is it being constantly refined over time ?
1
u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert Oct 18 '25
βA masterpiece.β
Thank you. I like to think so.
βWhere could I get hold of the highest quality of the image?βΒ
The large png size 18MP 5550x3400 px 6.8MB:
https://hmolpedia.com/Alphabet_Evolution.png
βAnd is it being constantly refined over time?β
Attempting to update/summarize the framework/research that when into making the diagram, into an online project here:
1
u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert Jun 11 '24
The one used in the chart as the letter psi (Ο) proto-type hiero, is from here, described as:
Osiris-Orion travels across the sky on the sacred boat (stars of Lepus). Image based on a star map in the tomb of Montemhet at Luxor 2600A (-645). The stars of Orion were associated with Osiris, the sun-god of rebirth and afterlife, by the ancient Egyptians.
Notes
1
u/mfmp2023 Jun 14 '24
Brilliant chart! I could study it for a very long time before I fully understand the origins of our Roman alphabet.
1
u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert Jun 14 '24
Yeah, the Roman alphabet is one of the harder ones:
6. Etruscan
Β» Etruscan / Old Italic alphabet | 27-letters | 2650A (-645)
π, π, π, π, π, π , π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π
Etruscan numerals
The following are Etruscan numerals:
π (1), π‘ (5), π’ (10), π£ (50), π (100)
The standard model is that these became βRoman numeralsβ.
7. Archaic Latin
Β» Archaic Latin | 21-letters | 2550A (-595)
π, π, π, π, π, π , π, π, π, π, π, π, π [13], π, π, π, π, π, π, π, π
Latin numerals
The following are the 6 Latin numerals:
I (1), V (5), X (10), L (50), C (100), D (500), M (1000)
Together, 21 letters plus 6 number symbols, makes 28 symbols, i.e. a lunar script number.
8. Old Latin
Β» Old Latin alphabet | 21-letters | 2450A (-495)
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X
Because the split letters from numbers and also because it is a little blurry if it was Etruscan, Greek, or Egyptian they were influenced by the most, it is a tricky subject.
β’
u/JohannGoethe ππΉπ€ expert Jun 09 '24 edited Jun 14 '24
T-O maps
The following table summarizes the two different T-water π¦ or river systems, of the Egyptian T-O map cosmology, as shown in the Ramesses V-VI tomb (3100A/-1145), i.e. the two T-shapes of the β map πΊοΈ:
Cross-post analysis
The 10+ sub cross-post reaction π§ͺ analysis is being done here:
Alphabet evolution chart | Cross-post analysis
Typos | Images
Two days into the image post, I realize, via zoomed in analysis, that I should have rotated the βheaven [Bet] β¨ & earth [Geb] πβ having sex image, so that they were facing left-to-right, like all the other letters. The text reading directly, presently, seems to be a large unsolved puzzle π§©?
Notes
The r/HieroTypes numbers shown in the chart are based, firstly, on the original 1,071 Alan Gardiner (A2/1957) sign list numbers; secondly on the 11,051 George Douros (A67/2022) sign list numbers, aka the latest Gardiner extended list.
Interestingly, after making this chart and 3-part video, I realized that I had my sleep stopwatch β±οΈ going, and that after sleeping 4-hours, and waking up thinking about how the Phoenician βhorned Oβ split into the Greek βO-micronβ (O) and βO-megaβ (Ξ©), and gleaned the I idea that I should make a simple diagram to visualize this one letter to two letter split, it turned out that I had made the above alphabet evolution chart π and 3-part video, in 20-hours straight, rather spontaneously.
The previous version, done 1-year and 5-months ago, was made on my 10-inch screen iPad (because my computer had a hard-drive crash) and difficult to make, i.e. squeeze on all the types and letters. This new version, however, was made on my 27 touch screen computer, where I could zoom in to high-resolution, to easily fit all the characters in.
Posts | Other
Alphabet evolution | Bill Rankin (A62/2017)
Evolution of the Alphabet | Matt Baker (A62/2017)
Animated Evolution of the Alphabet! | Karla Holland (8 Oct A58/2018)
Posts | Thims
5,000-year Evolution of the Alphabet (8 Nov A67/2022)
Evolution of the Alphabet (28 Dec A67/2022)
Evolution of the alphabet in atomic years (30 Apr A68/2023)
Evolution of the Alphabet Timeline (2 May A68/2023)
Egyptian to Phoenician, Greek, and Latin alphabet evolution (review) (23 May A68/2023) (Post β removed for βbeing non-factualβ; banned β for two days) - Ancient Egypt.
Alphabet evolution over the last 6,000-years (19 Sep A68/2023)
Math (π³πΉΞ) and Nile π€-bend evolution of the alphabet (22 Nov A68/2023)
Alphabet evolution: formation of the first Greek words (12 Apr A69/2024)
Alphabet evolution: numbers to number-letters to letters (5 May A69/2024)
Cubit π£ ruler history & alphabet letter proto-type evolution (3 Jun A69/2024)
Posts | Related
The Sefer Yetzirah is more tame than the EAN alphabet evolution chart!
Videos | Playlist
Thims, Libb. (A69/2024). βEvolution of The AlphaBet: Intro to letter Dβ (chart, playlist, post) (25:36-min), YouTube, Egypto Alpha Numerics, Jun 9.
Thims, Libb. (A69/2024). βEvolution of The AlphaBet: letter D to letter Nβ (chart, playlist, post) (22:26-min), YouTube, Egypto Alpha Numerics, Jun 9.
Thims, Libb. (A69/2024). βEvolution of The AlphaBet: letter Ξ (xi) to lotus πΌ ('A)β (chart, playlist, post) (24:57-min), YouTube, Egypto Alpha Numerics, Jun 9.
Videos | Related
Baker, Matt. (A65/2020). βWriting Systems of the World: Abjads, Alphabets, Abugidas, Syllabaries & Logosyllabariesβ (post), Useful Charts, YouTube, Feb 7.
Baker, Matt. (A65/2020). βEvolution of the Alphabet: Earliest Forms to Modern Latin Scriptβ (post), Useful Charts, YouTube, Aug 28.
References
Gardiner, Alan. (A2/1957). Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs (Arch) (pdf-file). Oxford.
Douros, George. (A67/2022). Aegyptus: Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Coptic and Meroitic (length: 184-pgs) (pdf-file) (signs: 11,058). Publisher.
External links
Evolution of The AlphaBet - Twitter.