A New Indo-European Language Is Discovered, Revealing Life of the Hittite Empire
An Indo-European language resurfaced after a search in 2023 in Turkiye (Türkiye).
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boğazköy-Hattusha was a treasure of archaeological artefacts. Once the capital of the Hittite Empire, a superpower of the Bronze Age (1650 BCE), the researchers discovered nearly 30,000 clay tablets containing cuneiform writing.
While most of the writings were in Hittite, considered as the oldest Indo-European language and the main language of the region at the time, the researchers noticed a language previously unknown inscribed in clay.
A new foreign language
Although this new discovery is fascinating, according to Daniel Schwemer, professor and head of the Ancient Studies Chair of the Near East in Julius-Maximiliens-Universität (JMU) Würzburg in Germany, the discovery is not surprising.
“Hittites were particularly interested in recording rituals in foreign languages,” said Schwemer in a press release.
According to Schwemer, the new language, written in a Hittite ritual text, comes from the country of Kalašma – an area located near Bolu or Modern Gered. This is not the first ritual text that researchers discovered on the site. According to documents, Hittite Scribes has also written with Anatolian, Syrians and Mesopotamian styles and linguistic methods.
Thanks to these discoveries, the researchers also noted that the Hittite scribes compiled works in Luwian and Palaic-other Anatolian-Indo-European languages. Researchers can now add Kalašmaic to the list.
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Decoding of the old text
Researchers are still working on the decoding of the Kalašmaic text. According to Elisabeth Rieken, specialist in ancient Anatolian languages and professor at Philipps-Universität Marburg, the language falls into the Anatolian-Indo-European family.
Rieken noted that, although Kalašma was geographically closer to the place where Palaic was spoken, the new language looks more like Luwian. However, additional research is still necessary to determine how much Luwian and Kalašma are closely linked.
Discover artifacts and stone tablets
The German Archaeological Institute has excited the Boğazköy-Hattusha site for over 100 years, and in 1986, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of its most notable characteristics is the lion’s door which has two large stone carved lions.
Archaeologists have discovered Thousands of artefactsIncluding stone tablets, temples, pottery and a square green stone which may have had a religious meaning. However, some of the most important discoveries are the cuneiform stone tablets.
In 2023, Professor Andreas Schachner of the Department of Istanbul of the German Archaeological Institute led annual excavations to discover more artifacts, such as the tablet with the new language. Each year, these excavations give more an overview of the Hittites and their neighbors.
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A graduate of Uw-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including a focus on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. His current work also appears on his travel blog and his Common State magazine. His love of science came to watch PBS shows like a child with his mother and spend too much time at Binging Doctor who.
