<Ul> <Li> Mycenae </Li> <Li> Tiryns </Li> <Li> Hagios Stephanos, Laconia </Li> </Ul> <Li> Hagios Stephanos, Laconia </Li> <P> Linear A became eminent during the Middle Minoan Period, specifically from 1625 - 1450 B.C. It was a contemporary and possible child of Cretan hieroglyphs and the ancestor of Linear B . The sequence and the geographical spread of Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A and Linear B, the three overlapping, but distinct writing systems on Bronze Age Crete and the Greek mainland can be summarized as follows: </P> <Table> <Tr> <Th> Writing system </Th> <Th> Geographical area </Th> <Th> Time span </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Cretan Hieroglyphic </Td> <Td> Crete </Td> <Td> c. 2100--1700 BC </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Linear A </Td> <Td> Aegean islands (Kea, Kythera, Melos, Thera), and Greek mainland (Laconia) </Td> <Td> c. 2500--1450 BC </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Linear B </Td> <Td> Crete (Knossos), and mainland (Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns) </Td> <Td> c. 1450--1200 BC </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who has been credited with deciphering linear a