History Stuff below the fold

Computer program to decode languages?

The article mentions Ugarit, where they found lots of tablet in a language related to Hebrew. Took humans years to decipher them back in the 1930's, but now the computer "reads" them faster.

Will it help them decipher Etruscan?
And what about Harappan?

a list of undeciphered languages HERE

and will it help to figure out where the language of ancient Sumar belongs? They can read it but it is a "language isolate"...

Most isolate languages are small indigneous hunter gatherer groups who were isolated when more powerful folks invaded (e.g. the Ainu, the Basques).
But I didn't realize that Korean was an "isolate" language too...
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Heh. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the guys who gave us 300 are planning a new movie on Xerxes, about the battle of Marathon.

Hmm...Ripping off Herodotus again...

And if you have trouble sleeping, his book is on Librivox, or at least part of his history. or check HERE. Alas, only the first three books, and Marathon is bookVI and VII...