Oldest sentence in history discovered: warning about beard lice from nearly 4,000 years ago

The oldest sentence written in the earliest known alphabet has been discovered, carved into an ivory comb warning of head lice.

A comb estimated to be 3,700 years old was discovered during an archaeological dig in Israel, according to a new study published Wednesday.

“May this tusk root out lice in the hair and beard,” reads the inscription, written in Canaanite script, experts say. In Jerusalem Journal of Archaeology.

Microscopic evidence of lice has even been found in the remnants of comb bristles.

The comb was excavated in 2016 at Tel Lachish, about 25 miles from Jerusalem, but a researcher at Israel’s Hebrew University discovered the carving only late last year, according to the report.

Previous discoveries of Canaanite writing consisted of a few letters or words, but this is the first time researchers have found a complete sentence.

“It’s a very human text,” said Yosef Garfinkel of Hebrew University, the study’s lead researcher.

“It shows us that people haven’t really changed and lice haven’t really changed,” Garfinkel told The Associated Press.

The find also showed that “even at the oldest stage there were complete sentences” using the Canaanite alphabet, he said.

Carbon dating cannot confirm the age of the ancient comb, which scientists believe was imported because ivory-tusked elephants were not native to the region.

The tiny comb, about 1.5 inches wide, had most of its teeth worn down over the millennia, but six teeth on one side were likely used to detangle hair and 14 finer teeth to target animals and their eggs, according to the study.

Writing systems in Mesopotamia and Egypt predated the Canaanites, but relied on symbols rather than alphabets, a knowledge of Semitic languages told the Guardian.

Canaanite provided the basis for ancient Greek and Latin, and in turn for many modern European languages, says Christopher Rolston of George Washington University.

“Lice have been a constant problem throughout human history,” he told the Guardian. “And this inscription is a good indication that even the rich and famous in ancient times were not immune to such problems.”

With postal wires