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Ivory lice comb
Aerial view of the excavation site at Tel Lachish
Type	Tool
Material	Elephant Ivory
Size	3.5 by 2.5 centimetres (1.38 by 0.98 in)
Writing	Early Canaanite
Created	1700 B.C.
Discovered	2016 Tel Lachish
Discovered by	Archaeologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem & Southern Adventist University

The Canaanite Ivory Comb is a 3,700-year-old artifact discovered in the ruins of Lachish, an ancient Canaanite city-state located in modern-day Israel. Measuring approximately 3.5 by 2.5 centimetres (1.38 by 0.98 in), the comb is made of elephant ivory and contains the earliest known complete sentence written in a phonetic alphabet. The inscription, carved in an early Canaanite script, reads, "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard". The comb was unearthed in 2016 but the inscription was identified in 2021. The artifact provided insights into daily life, personal hygiene, and early literacy among the Canaanites, making it an important discovery in the study of ancient civilizations and the development of alphabetic writing systems.

Discovery and context

The ivory comb was excavated from Tel Lachish, a site that was once a major Canaanite city-state during the second millennium BCE. Lachish held strategic and economic importance, second only to Jerusalem within the Judean kingdom in later periods. The comb was initially overlooked and categorized among miscellaneous artifacts due to its worn condition and lack of visible markings. Years after its initial discovery, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted a closer examination of the comb and identified a faint inscription on one side of the artifact.

The comb is believed to date to around 1700 BCE and was likely imported from Egypt, as elephants did not inhabit the Levant during that period. This suggests that the comb was a luxury item, affordable only to the wealthier classes of Canaanite society.

Description

External image
Image of the comb photographed Dafna Gazit for the Israel Antiquities Authority

The comb is dual-sided, with one set of teeth designed for detangling hair and another set with finer teeth intended for removing lice and their eggs. While some of the teeth have broken off, the overall design resembles modern lice combs. Microscopic analysis of the comb's teeth revealed traces of a louse, affirming its function as a lice removal tool. The artifact's wear and the erosion on its surface likely resulted from repeated handling, further confirming its use in grooming practices.

The inscription on the comb, composed of 17 tiny letters in Canaanite script, forms the earliest known complete sentence in a phonetic alphabet. The sentence reads: "May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard". This discovery is particularly notable as it represents a shift towards alphabetic writing systems, where individual letters represent sounds. Unlike older writing systems, such as Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform, which used hundreds of symbols to represent words or syllables, the Canaanite alphabet allowed for a simpler, more accessible form of writing. The alphabetic system used on the comb is considered a precursor to the Phoenician alphabet, which later influenced Greek, Latin, and other modern alphabets.

The inscription's focus on a practical, personal matter, removing lice, stands out from other ancient inscriptions, which commonly emphasize royal achievements, religious dedications, or military victories. This inscription demonstrates that even the upper classes of Canaanite society dealt with common challenges like lice infestations. The script, while primitive compared to later alphabets, suggests that writing was not only used for official or ceremonial purposes but also had practical applications in daily life. The skill required to engrave such fine letters, some as small as 1 to 3 millimetres (0.039 to 0.118 in), indicates a high level of craftsmanship and literacy.

The Canaanites are historically documented in various sources, including Egyptian texts, the Hebrew Bible, and Akkadian tablets, but few of their own written records survive. The comb provides one of the most direct pieces of evidence for Canaanite literacy and the use of a phonetic alphabet in daily life. As one of the earliest known examples of alphabetic writing, it highlights the origins of a system that would eventually influence the development of written language across Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.

See also

• Phoenician alphabet – An evolution of the Canaanite script, which influenced Greek and Latin alphabets.

References

1. "4,000-year-old head lice comb found inscribed with phrase using the alphabet". www.sciencefocus.com. 9 November 2022. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
2. ^ Hunt, Katie (2022-11-09). "Bronze Age comb reveals an ancient frustration with head lice". CNN. Archived from the original on 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
3. Lazaro, Enrico de (2022-11-09). "Archaeologists Find 3,700-Year-Old Ivory Comb Inscribed with Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice | Sci.News". Sci.News: Breaking Science News. Archived from the original on 2022-11-27. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
4. Whang, Oliver (9 November 2022). "An Ancient People's Oldest Message: Get Rid of Beard Lice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 November 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
5. Borschel, Amanda (9 November 2022). "Ivory lice comb – a dating head-scratcher – may hold earliest Canaanite sentence". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 28 May 2024. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
6. Archaeology, World (2023-01-15). "Ivory comb with rare Canaanite inscription | The Past". the-past.com. Archived from the original on 2024-09-19. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
7. Saraceni, Jessica Esther (2022-11-09). "Ancient Ivory Lice Comb Analyzed in Israel". Archaeology Magazine. Archived from the original on 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
8. Jerusalem, Hebrew University of. "First sentence ever written in Canaanite language discovered: A plea to eradicate beard lice". phys.org. Archived from the original on 2024-11-26. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
9. Klimek, Chris. "What a Comb Can Tell Us About the History of the Written Word". Smithsonian. Archived from the original on 2023-05-04. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
10. ^ "Oldest known sentence written in first alphabet discovered – on a head-lice comb". The Guardian. 2022-11-09. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
11. "This ancient ivory comb reveals a wish to be free of lice". 2022-12-23. Archived from the original on 2024-06-15. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
12. "Rare inscription found on ivory comb in Israel reveals ancient annoyance with lice - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 2022-11-09. Archived from the original on 2024-12-10. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
13. "Southern Adventist University Archaeologists Find Ivory Comb With First Written Canaanite Sentence". www.southern.edu. 10 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2025-01-02. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
14. Eames, Christopher (8 November 2022). "3,700-Year-Old Appeal Against Lice: Earliest(?) Alphabetic Inscription Discovered in Israel". Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology. Archived from the original on 2024-07-19. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
15. "Hebrew U. Unearths Ivory Comb from 1700 BCE Inscribed with Plea to Eradicate Lice". Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 13 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2024-12-25. Retrieved 2024-11-08.

Further reading

• Vainstub, Daniel; Mumcuoglu, Madeleine; G. Hasel, Michael; M Hesler, Katherine; Lavi, Miriam; Rabinovich, Rivka; Goren, Yuval; Garfinkel, Yosef (October 2022). "A Canaanite's Wish to Eradicate Lice on an Inscribed Ivory Comb from Lachish". Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology.
• Höflmayer, Felix; Misgav, Haggai; Webster, Lyndelle; Streit, Katharina (15 April 2021). "Early alphabetic writing in the ancient Near East: the 'missing link' from Tel Lachish". Antiquity. 95 (381): 705–719 – via Cambridge University Press.

• Archaeology
• Canaanite inscriptions
• Canaanite languages
• Canaanite writing systems