Editing Linear A (section)

==Chronology==
{{see also|Minoan chronology}}
The earliest attestation of Linear&nbsp;A begins around 1800&nbsp;BC (Middle Minoan&nbsp;IB) during the Protopalatial period. It became prominent around 1625&nbsp;BC (Middle Minoan&nbsp;IIIB) and went out of use around 1450&nbsp;BC (Late Minoan&nbsp;I) during the Neopalatial period. It was contemporary with and possibly derived from [[Cretan hieroglyphs]], and may be an ancestor of Linear&nbsp;B. The [[Cypro-Minoan syllabary]], used between Cyprus and its trading partners around the Mediterranean, was also in use during this period.<ref>Valério, Miguel, "Linear A du and Cypriot su: a Case of Diachronic Acrophony?", Kadmos, vol. 47, no. 1–2, pp. 57–66, 2009</ref> The sequence and the geographical spread of Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear&nbsp;A, and Linear&nbsp;B, the three overlapping but distinct writing systems on Bronze Age Crete and the [[Greek mainland]], can be summarized as follows:<ref name="Olivier">{{harvnb|Olivier|1986|pp=377f.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-  style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;" "
! Writing system
! Geographical area
! Time span
|-
|[[Cretan hieroglyphs|Cretan Hieroglyphic]]
|[[Crete]], [[Samothrace]]
|{{nowrap|c. 2100–1700&nbsp;BC}}
|-
|Linear A
|Crete, [[Aegean islands]] ([[Kea (island)|Kea]], [[Kythera]], [[Melos]], [[Santorini|Thera]]), and Greek mainland ([[Laconia]])
|{{nowrap|c. 1800–1450&nbsp;BC}}
|-
|[[Cypro-Minoan syllabary|Cypro-Minoan]]
|[[Cyprus]] and trading partners, [[Ugarit]]
|{{nowrap|c. 1550–1050 BC}}
|-
|[[Linear B]]
|Crete ([[Knossos]]), and mainland ([[Pylos]], [[Mycenae]], [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]], [[Tiryns]])
|{{nowrap|c. 1450–1200&nbsp;BC}}
|}