Structural Survival and Computational Stratification in Linear A Administrative Texts

This paper develops a structural framework for analyzing undeciphered administrative writing systems by distinguishing between boundary information—self-contained, verifiable structural invariants—and bulk information, which requires lost reconstruction operators such as language knowledge or institutional training. Applying this framework to the Linear A administrative corpus from Bronze Age Crete, the study demonstrates that positional grammar, arithmetic closure (via the ku-ro operator), hierarchical aggregation, and fractional notation systems form a recoverable verification layer independent of semantic decipherment. Empirical analysis of the Haghia Triada archive reveals computational stratification within Minoan administration: a binary fractional system (1/2, 1/4, 1/8) associated with distributed, low-precision contexts such as personnel management, and a sexagesimal-compatible L-series (1/10–1/60) associated with centralized palace accounting of commodities. The fraction sign J (1/2) functions as a universal bridge element, enabling lossless translation between computational layers. Aggregation behavior, including systematic ceiling rounding at the ku-ro level, is interpreted as deliberate boundary projection rather than scribal error. Comparative validation using double-entry bookkeeping and chess notation demonstrates that this boundary/bulk asymmetry is domain-independent and characteristic of verification-oriented record systems. The results show that while Linear A semantics remain irrecoverable, its institutional and computational architecture can be reconstructed rigorously without linguistic assumptions. The framework offers a transferable method for studying other undeciphered administrative scripts, including Cretan Hieroglyphic, Cypro-Minoan, and Proto-Elamite.