The discovery of five words inscribed on a 2,000-year-old bronze hand may help rewrite the history of the Basque language, one of Europe’s most mysterious tongues.

One theory, popular among Basque scholars, is that both the language and the ethnic group descend from the Iberian peninsula’s earliest settlers, who may have arrived around 35,000 years ago.

Researchers think it is the earliest known evidence of a written Vasconic language, a precursor to the Basque still spoken in parts of northern Spain and southwest France.

Whereas most languages spoken in Europe today belong to the Indo-European language family, Basque doesn’t. “It’s not related to any other language that we know of,” says Edeso Egia.

The vote for co-official language status passed 176-169 with two abstentions. Catalan is spoken by about 9 million people in Spain’s northeast and its Balearic Islands. Galician is spoken by about 2 ...

The Basque language or Euskara, which does not originate from Latin, is spoken by over 750,000 people in the Basque Country and Navarra, and also in the bordering areas of southern France.

"Basque culture is very much connected to the fabric of Boise," said Lete, BSU associate professor of Basque studies. "It's actually the only non-Indo European language that is spoken today in ...

Researchers think it is the earliest known evidence of a written Vasconic language, a precursor to the Basque still spoken in parts of northern Spain and southwest France.