Rate My Professor Brent Davis

Associate Professor Brent Davis serves in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies within the Faculty of Arts at the University of Melbourne. He holds a BA in Linguistics from Stanford University and a PhD in Archaeology from the University of Melbourne, completed in 2011, with his dissertation examining Minoan ritual vessels and the undeciphered Linear A script from the Minoan civilization. Prior to his academic career, Davis worked for over 25 years in the information technology sector, including a role at Apple Computer where he contributed to writing programmers' manuals for the original Macintosh during the company's early days as a small enterprise. Motivated by his passion for ancient languages and archaeology, he transitioned to graduate studies at the University of Melbourne, eventually becoming Associate Professor in Archaeology, with his position supported by the Spencer-Pappas Trust.

Davis's research specializes in Aegean Bronze Age archaeology, encompassing Minoan Crete, Mycenaean Greece, and the Cyclades, alongside undeciphered scripts including Cretan Hieroglyphic, Linear A, and Cypro-Minoan. Drawing on his linguistics expertise, he employs methods such as syntactic analysis, phonotactics, and statistical approaches to advance script decipherment. He has participated in archaeological fieldwork at Tell es-Safi/Gath in Israel since 2007, contributing to excavations that uncovered Philistine architecture, vessels, jewelry, and cultic items like an altar. Key publications include his forthcoming book The Undeciphered Aegean Scripts (Cambridge University Press, 2026); "Syntax in Linear A: The Word-Order of the 'Libation Formula'" (Kadmos, 2013); "Recent linguistics-based advances in the study of Linear A" (2025); "Investigations into the Language(s) behind Cretan Hieroglyphic and Linear A"; and "An ivory bowl from Early Iron Age Tell es-Safi/Gath (Israel): manufacture, meaning and memory" (World Archaeology, 2015). In 2019, he received the Michael Ventris Award for Mycenaean Studies from the British School at Athens for his contributions to Aegean script studies. Davis teaches archaeology, ancient history, and Ancient Egyptian language, utilizing innovative tools like virtual reality for hieroglyphics and object-based learning. As part of a select group of about eight to ten worldwide specialists, his collaborative efforts promote data sharing and methodological openness, echoing the decipherment of Linear B by Michael Ventris and enhancing comprehension of ancient eastern Mediterranean cultures.