Paul D LeBlanc | University of Ottawa | Université d'Ottawa (original) (raw)
Uploads
Papers by Paul D LeBlanc
Subclass Press, 2017
(From the back cover) Egypt, Judaism, and the history of the alphabet intersect in Deciphering Th... more (From the back cover) Egypt, Judaism, and the history of the alphabet intersect in Deciphering The Proto-Sinaitic Script. From its initial appearance, in around the 18th century BC, the origins of proto–Sinaitic writing can be traced back to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom period, when it was somehow derived from the hieroglyphs, its parent–system. The importance of proto–Sinaitic lies in the fact that it represents the alphabet’s earliest developmental period—a kind of ‘missing link’ between the hieroglyphs and these early Semitic alphabets from which our own Latin one descends, by way of the Phoenician and Greek. However, up until now, proto-Sinaitic has remained for the most part undeciphered. The intriguing possibility of giving voice to a lost culture or civilization from thousands of years ago is tantalizing. Representing one of the most enticing problems in modern archaeology, the enigmatic allure surrounding ancient languages and the undeciphered scripts in which they are encoded is truly vexing. In his bold and original research, LeBlanc argues convincingly to have solved the mystery and uncovers some incredibly enthralling information about the people who invented it: The epigraphic evidence suggests that the Egyptianized Canaanites who first devised the proto–Sinaitic script were surprisingly instrumental in the formation of early Israelite culture and proto–Judaism. (A preview of Introduction and Bibliography included in attached PDF)
Pages 3-19 in The Ottawa Journal of Religion (OJR), Vol. 4, The University of Ottawa, Nov 2012
This article explores the cross-cultural trade links of the Indus civilization in order to better... more This article explores the cross-cultural trade links of the Indus civilization in order to better contextualize the origins and development of the Indus script, a writing system which remains undeciphered. Focussing on its inclusion in the Bronze Age Mesopotamian world-system (in the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC), I will examine the role played by the Indus state in the Persian Gulf trade in relation to possible influences it could have been exposed to as an actively engaged participant. Particular importance shall be placed on Dilmun’s (Bahrain) role as an intermediary and trade entrepôt in the Indus-to-Mesopotamia long-distance sea-trade route. I shall argue that comparisons between the undeciphered Indus script and that of other contemporary writing systems, most notably the Mesopotamian cuneiform that dominated the Gulf trade, are totally legitimate enterprises since the two cultures were situated at a crossroads, with Dilmun at its centre.
Subclass Press, 2017
(From the back cover) Egypt, Judaism, and the history of the alphabet intersect in Deciphering Th... more (From the back cover) Egypt, Judaism, and the history of the alphabet intersect in Deciphering The Proto-Sinaitic Script. From its initial appearance, in around the 18th century BC, the origins of proto–Sinaitic writing can be traced back to Egypt’s Middle Kingdom period, when it was somehow derived from the hieroglyphs, its parent–system. The importance of proto–Sinaitic lies in the fact that it represents the alphabet’s earliest developmental period—a kind of ‘missing link’ between the hieroglyphs and these early Semitic alphabets from which our own Latin one descends, by way of the Phoenician and Greek. However, up until now, proto-Sinaitic has remained for the most part undeciphered. The intriguing possibility of giving voice to a lost culture or civilization from thousands of years ago is tantalizing. Representing one of the most enticing problems in modern archaeology, the enigmatic allure surrounding ancient languages and the undeciphered scripts in which they are encoded is truly vexing. In his bold and original research, LeBlanc argues convincingly to have solved the mystery and uncovers some incredibly enthralling information about the people who invented it: The epigraphic evidence suggests that the Egyptianized Canaanites who first devised the proto–Sinaitic script were surprisingly instrumental in the formation of early Israelite culture and proto–Judaism. (A preview of Introduction and Bibliography included in attached PDF)
Pages 3-19 in The Ottawa Journal of Religion (OJR), Vol. 4, The University of Ottawa, Nov 2012
This article explores the cross-cultural trade links of the Indus civilization in order to better... more This article explores the cross-cultural trade links of the Indus civilization in order to better contextualize the origins and development of the Indus script, a writing system which remains undeciphered. Focussing on its inclusion in the Bronze Age Mesopotamian world-system (in the 3rd and early 2nd millennium BC), I will examine the role played by the Indus state in the Persian Gulf trade in relation to possible influences it could have been exposed to as an actively engaged participant. Particular importance shall be placed on Dilmun’s (Bahrain) role as an intermediary and trade entrepôt in the Indus-to-Mesopotamia long-distance sea-trade route. I shall argue that comparisons between the undeciphered Indus script and that of other contemporary writing systems, most notably the Mesopotamian cuneiform that dominated the Gulf trade, are totally legitimate enterprises since the two cultures were situated at a crossroads, with Dilmun at its centre.