604 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1907. 
1 (p). It must be admitted, however, that the forms are not suffi 
ciently characteristic to afford basis for proof, and the correspond- 
ence of the name of the Canaanite sign, pe, with the Cypriote sound 
value is probably merely a coincidence. Still, I would even go fur- 
ther and see in the Cypriote syllabic sign for po the prototype of 
the Canaanite Q(b). The syllabic sign looks like 5, §, also f), +), 
and similar ones. I believe the external resemblance between the 
two letters is not small. 
The syllabic sign for ke (k"e, ge) in Cypriote is %. Occasionally 
the upper angle is somewhat obtuse, and the two lower strokes 
are sometimes combined, as in %, X. The assumption seems to me 
self-evident that we have here the prototype of the Canaanite 7. 
And as the syllabic sign for ko is in Cypriote A, [], and 7, it is again 
not difficult to see in it the origin of the Canaanite sign “|, 4 (A). 
It seems as if the Canaanites derived from the same syllabic sign 
(k"e, Ye) also the two gutturals A and H, although they had at their 
disposal the syllabic signs 4\, ka, and W, ki. The resemblance of 
these forms speaks clearly in favor of the assumption that 7 and A 
are merely different developments of the Cypriote 2, while in 7 
there was added on the left side a differentiating bar. 
But the Cypriote syllabic signs +, ta, Y, te, /\, ti, and F, to, seem 
to have no similarity with the Canaanite X< (t)and A (d). On the 
prevailing analogy it was to be expected that Y (te) would have 
developed into X, F (to) into 4. The possibility of this development 
can not be denied, especially since the three strokes of the F can 
easily be reconstructed into 7. 
Cypriote writing has but one surd sibilant, while the Canaanite 
writing has three. We have already recognized above the origin 
of the Canaanite /” in the Cypriote syllabic sign for su. The Cypriote 
signs for se and si seem to have supplied the Canaanite W and =. 
Cypriote se looks like JJ, and from it originated Canaanite W. 
The sign was formed in Canaanite by starting to the left above, in 
one stroke, neglecting the vertical left bar. Later there arose in 
Canaanite signs some forms more closely resembling the Cypriote, but 
which can not be directly connected with it, such as Ly and similar 
ones. Here the vertical bar to the left arose from a cursive need. 
The usual form of Cypriote si is, AA, ©, sometimes A, @, J, also .E. 
I believe the way to Canaanite == and Greek = is not very far from 
it. It may be worth mentioning as a coincidence that the picture 
of the Cypriote syllabic sign involuntarily reminds one of the Ca- 
naanite name of the letter samek, “ support.” 
T thus claim for about half of the twenty-two signs of the Canaanite 
alphabet a certain knowledge of their origin. And this certainly 
lends some weight to the consideration of the other resemblances and 
surmises that otherwise would have to be dismissed without further 
reflection as coincidents and fantasies. 
