decipherment n : the activity of making clear or converting from code into plain text; "a secret key or password is required for decryption" [syn: decoding, decryption]

Decipherment is the analysis of documents written in ancient languages, where the language is unknown, or knowledge of the language has been lost.

It is closely related to cryptanalysis — the difference being that the original document was not deliberately written to be difficult to decipher.

The term has also been used to describe the analysis of the genetic code information encoded in DNA - see the Human Genome Project article for more on this.

Some people have also used the word metaphorically to mean something like 'understanding'.

Examples of document decipherment:

• Cuneiform writing
• Egyptian hieroglyphic writing
• Kharoshthi script
• Linear B
• Maya writing

Famous documents that have been the subject of actual or attempted decipherment:

• the Dresden Codex
• the Phaistos Disc
• the Rosetta Stone
• the Behistun Inscription
• the Voynich Manuscript
• the Rohonc Codex

Famous decipherers:

• Michael Ventris
• Jean-François Champollion
• Georg Friedrich Grotefend
• Yuri Knorozov

External links

• Ancient Languages and Scripts
• http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~fsaber1/language/MysteryCuneiform.html
• How come we can't decipher the Indus script? (from The Straight Dope)