Editing Linear A (section)

== Numerals ==
{{main|Aegean numerals}}

These numerals follow a decimal system: units are represented by vertical dashes, tens by horizontal dashes, hundreds by circles, and thousands by circles with rays. There are special symbols to indicate fractions and weights. Specific signs that coincide with numerals are regarded as fractions;<ref>{{harvnb|Packard|1974|pages=23–24}}</ref> these sign combinations are known as ''klasmatograms''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Proust |first1=Christine |title=Numerical and Metrological Graphemes: From Cuneiform to Transliteration |journal=Cuneiform Digital Library Journal |date=June 22, 2009 |url=https://cdli.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/articles/cdlj/2009-1 |access-date=January 23, 2024}}</ref>

Integers can be read and the operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division are quite straightforward, similarly to [[Roman numerals]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=W. French |title=Arithmetical Procedure in Minoan Linear A and in Minoan-Greek Linear B |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=1 July 1958 |volume=62 |issue=3 |pages=363–368 |doi=10.2307/501989 |jstor=501989 |s2cid=193020404 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/501989 |access-date= |language=en |issn=0002-9114}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; "
|+ Aegean numerals
|-
|1
|2
|3
|4
|5
|6
|7
|8
|9
|-
|[[File:Aegean numeral 1.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|1]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 2.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|2]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 3.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|3]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 4.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|4]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 5.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|5]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 6.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|6]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 7.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|7]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 8.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|8]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 9.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|9]]
|- style="border-top: 2px solid rgba(0,0,0, .3);"
|10
|20
|30
|40
|50
|60
|70
|80
|90
|-
|[[File:Aegean numeral 10.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|10]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 20.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|20]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 30.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|30]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 40.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|40]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 50.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|50]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 60.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|60]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 70.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|70]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 80.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|80]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 90.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|90]]
|- style="border-top: 2px solid rgba(0,0,0, .3);"
|100
|200
|300
|400
|500
|600
|700
|800
|900
|-
|[[File:Aegean numeral 100.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|100]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 200.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|200]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 300.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|300]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 400.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|400]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 500.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|500]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 600.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|600]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 700.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|700]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 800.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|800]]
|[[File:Aegean numeral 900.svg|class=skin-invert|30px|frameless|900]]
|}

=== Fractions ===
There is a lack of scholarly agreement about signs, generally called klasmatograms, for Linear A fractions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Billigmeier |first1=Jon C. |title=Linear A Fractions: A New Approach |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |date=1 October 1973 |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=61–65 |doi=10.2307/503234 |jstor=503234 |s2cid=191382050 |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/503234 |access-date= |language=en |issn=0002-9114}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bennett |first1=Emmett L. |title=Linear A fractional retractation |journal=Kadmos |date=1 January 1980 |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=12–23 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-1980-0104 |s2cid=163961065 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-1980-0104/html |access-date= |language=| issn=0022-7498}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schrijver |first1=Peter |title=Fractions and food rations in Linear A |journal=Kadmos |date=1 July 2014 |volume=53 |issue=1–2 |pages=1–44 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2014-0001 |s2cid=164932371 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2014-0001/html |access-date= |language= | issn=0022-7498 }}</ref><ref>Giulio Facchetti, "Linear A metrograms", Kadmos, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 142–148, 1994</ref> In 2021 Corazza et al. proposed the following values, most of which had been previously suggested:<ref name="Corazza">{{cite journal |last1=Corazza |first1=Michele |last2=Ferrara |first2=Silvia |last3=Montecchi |first3=Barbara |last4=Tamburini |first4=Fabio |last5=Valério |first5=Miguel |title=The mathematical values of fraction signs in the Linear A script: A computational, statistical and typological approach |journal=Journal of Archaeological Science |date=2021 |volume=125 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1016/j.jas.2020.105214|s2cid=225229514 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2021JArSc.125j5214C |hdl=11585/789546 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center; "
|+Proposed values of fraction glyphs<ref name=Corazza/>
! Symbol !! Glyph !! Value
|-
| J ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A707 J.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|2}}
|-
| E ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A704 E.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|4}}
|-
| B ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A702 B.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|5}}
|-
| D ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A703 D.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|6}}
|-
| F ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A705 F.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|8}}
|-
| K |||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A708 K.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|10}}
|-
| H ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A706 H.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|16}}?
|-
| L<sup>2</sup> ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A709-2 L2.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|20}}
|-
| A ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A701 A.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|24}}?
|-
| L<sup>3</sup> ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A709-3 L3.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|30}}
|-
| L<sup>4</sup> ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A709-4 L4.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|40}}
|-
| L<sup>6</sup> ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A709-6 L6.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| {{frac|1|60}}
|-
| W ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A710 W.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| = BB? ({{frac|2|5}})
|-
| X ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A711 X.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| = AA? ({{frac|1|12}})
|-
| Y ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A712 Y.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| ?
|-
| Ω ||[[File:LINEAR A SIGN A713 OMEGA.svg|class=skin-invert|40px]]|| ?
|}

Other fractions are composed by addition: the common JE and DD are {{frac|3|4}} and {{frac|1|3}} ({{frac|2|6}}), BB = {{frac|2|5}}, EF = {{frac|3|8}}, etc. (and indeed B {{frac|1|5}} looks like it might derive from KK {{frac|2|10}}).  L, Y, and Ω are [[hapax legomena]] (only occur once) and it has been proposed that glyph L is spurious.<ref name="Corazza" />

Several of these values are supported by Linear B. Although Linear B used a different numbering system, several of the Linear A fractions were adopted as fractional units of measurement. For example, Linear B DD and (presumably AA) are {{frac|1|3}} and {{frac|1|12}} of a ''lana'', while K is {{frac|1|10}} of the main unit for dry weight.<ref name=Corazza/>