ANTHROPOLOGY AT THE PARIS EXPOSITION IN 1889. 673 



(2) The European alphabets which are all derived from the ancient 

 Phoenician by the intermediation of the Greek. 



(3) The alphabets of India and of Pehlevi, which descended at a 

 comparatively recent date from the Aramean. 



1. Semitic alphabet. 

 Hebrew alphabet. 



12. Pillar Daiboii ; with an inscription of Mesa, king of Moab, about 875 B. C. 



This is placed at the head because of its importance, for it is one of the most 

 ancient alphabetic inscriptions known (but see Mr. W. Flinder Petrie's dis- 

 coveries of 1869 at Kahun, in which he finds many possibly alphabetic signs 

 of the Xllth dynasty, 2600 B.C.). One can recognize in the foregoing in- 

 scription the relationship of different Hebrew letters with those of the Phoeni- 

 cian and Archaic-Greek alphabets. Cast given by the Louvre Museum, which 

 possesses the original. 



Fhcenician alphabet. 



13. Bronze cup dedicated to Baal Lebanon (the god of Lebanon), by King Hiram, 800 



to 1000 B. C. The original is at the Bibliotheque Nationale (Cabinet des M6- 

 dailles). 



14. An inscription engraved on one of the coloasuses of Ipsamboul by a mercenary of 



Psammetic, (550 to 600 B. C. Cast. 



15. Cyprus. Inscription bilingual, Phoenician and Cyprian of Idalie of the year 4 



of the King Melekjaton, 375 B. C. Cast from the origiual in the British 

 Museum. 



16. Sardinia. An inscription trilingual on bronze, engraved on the base of an altar 



weighing 100 pounds, given to Esculapius by Clion. 



17. Carthage. Punic writing anterior to 200 years B. C. An ex-voto toTanit in form 



of a tower. 



18. 1. Idem. Fragment of the tariff of sacrifices of Carthage. 



2. Idem. A dedication of a sacred abbatoir. 



3. Malta. Dedication of a temple of Gaulos. 



All casfs. 



19. Malta. A bilingual inscription, Phoenician and Greek, which furnished to Abbe 



Barthelemy, about 1760, the key to the Phoenician alphabet. 200 to 150 B. C- 

 Cast. Gift of the Louvre Museum. 



20. A funeral vase from the cemetery of Hatrumete (Sousse), Tunis; with inscription 



painted in characters of running hand. 156 to 50 B.C. 



Translation : " This urn contains the bones of Iatanmelek, son of Bomilcar, 

 son of Abdmelbari, the * * * ." Gift of Colonel Vincent. 



21. Another funeral vase from the same cemetery, with painted inscription. Gift of 



Colonel Vincent. 



22. Neopunic writing of the Roman epoch. Cabinet of Corpus Inscriptionum Semiti- 



carum. 



Aramean alphabet. 



In its origin the Aramean alphabet is confounded with the Phoenician 



alphabet, which gave birth to it. But soon the tail to the letters were 



made longer, then were bent to the left that they might be joined to the 



following letters. At the same time the head of the letters became 



H. Mis. 129, pt. 2 43 



