What is Paleography?

Paleography is the study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering of historical manuscripts. As a genealogist, you may have struggled to decipher old letters and handwritten documents and even done some online indexing but did not know what you were doing was classified as paleography (US; ultimately from Greek: παλαιός, palaiós, “old”, and γράφειν, gráphein, “to write”). The study of paleography goes a lot further back in time than most genealogical research. The earliest handwriting systems evolved independently in Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, and ancient Mesoamerica.

As a genealogist, you may have struggled to decipher old letters and handwritten documents and even done some online indexing but did not know what you were doing.  This is true even if all of your ancestors supposedly spoke the same language you speak today. There is a basic linguistic principle that ll languages evolve or change over time. Although it may appear that from published books that your English speaking ancestors of the early 19th Century spoke a language similar to your spoken English today, it is certain that if you went back in time, you would have trouble understanding them.

Looking for a Paleographer to read your old documentation? Check out Istoria Research and contact Lynette