Linear A sign AB171

AB171 is a catalog label; its context suggests a use. One attested occurrence is on the Zakros tablet ZA 6a.1, where it appears as an ideogram—a sign for an item or idea—before a numeral. That placement suggests something was being counted, but does not identify its name or type.

A proposed second occurrence appears on THE Zb 5, a pottery shard from Thera. The sign is reconstructed from an incomplete trace, and the publication discusses competing readings, so this is a disputed identification rather than a clear second example.

Is Linear B B171 related to AB171?

The signs are related, but their readings do not transfer. Linear B, a later script for a different language, has a corresponding *171 ideogram in commodity and livestock records; fodder is one proposed contextual reading. That proposal belongs to Linear B, not to Linear A 𐙑.

Linear A and Cretan Hieroglyphic, another script used on Crete, were in use during overlapping periods; resemblance alone does not show that one descended from the other. Linear B later reused part of the Aegean sign repertoire. Its conventional sound values help compare signs, but do not establish how 𐙑 was pronounced.