Proto‑Sinaitic and Proto‑Canaanite Alphabetic Graffiti (c. 18th–12th centuries BCE)

1. Proposed invention of Proto‑Sinaitic alphabetic writing

   Jan 1, 1850 BCELabels: Proto Sinaitic, Middle Bronze

   • Proto Sinaitic
   • Wadi el Hol

2. Wadi el‑Hol inscriptions carved in Egypt’s desert road

   Jan 1, 1850 BCELabels: Wadi el, rock inscriptions

   • Wadi el Hol
   • Proto Sinaitic

3. Proto‑Canaanite letter forms used in Canaan

   Jan 1, 1700 BCELabels: Proto Canaanite, southern Levant

   • Proto Canaanite
   • Proto Sinaitic

4. Proto‑Sinaitic graffiti produced at Serabit el‑Khadim

   Jan 1, 1500 BCELabels: Serabit el, Hathor temple

   • BAS Serabit
   • Serabit corpus

5. Alphabetic direction and forms remain non-standardized

   Jan 1, 1400 BCELabels: Letter shapes, writing direction

   • Proto Sinaitic
   • Serabit corpus

6. Proto‑Canaanite inscription placed on the Lachish ewer

   Jan 1, 1230 BCELabels: Lachish ewer, Proto Canaanite

   • Lachish ewer
   • COJS ewer

7. Proto‑Canaanite use continues into the 12th century BCE

   Jan 1, 1200 BCELabels: southern Levant, 12th century

   • Proto Canaanite
   • Proto Sinaitic

8. Flinders Petrie uncovers Serabit Proto‑Sinaitic inscriptions

   Jan 1, 1905Labels: Flinders Petrie, Hilda Petrie

   • Proto Sinaitic
   • BAS Serabit

9. Alan Gardiner’s 1916 analysis formalizes early corpus

   Jan 1, 1916Labels: Alan Gardiner, 1916 study

   • Proto Sinaitic

10. Wadi el‑Hol inscriptions discovered by the Darnells

    Jan 1, 1993Labels: John Darnell, Deborah Darnell

    • Wadi el Hol
    • Proto Sinaitic

11. Wadi el‑Hol findings published and widely debated

    Jan 1, 1999Labels: Wadi el, scholarly debate

    • Wadi el Hol
    • BAS Wadi

12. Proto‑Sinaitic and Proto‑Canaanite framed as “Early Alphabetic”

    Jan 1, 2010Labels: Early Alphabetic, Phoenician precursor

    • Proto Sinaitic
    • Proto Canaanite