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~3500 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
Kish Tablet
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
Writing & Literature
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
ATU 5, pl. 013, W 6710,a
1. 1(N14) 3(N01), [commodity-sign ZATU678] — male workers (ERIM~a) 2. 1(N14), [commodity-sign ZATU678] — [sign ZATU765] 3. 5(N01), [sign ZATU718?] 4. 5(N01), woman/female (SAL) 5. 5(N01), PAP~a (supervisory/summary marker) 6. 1(N14), copper(?) (URUDU~a?) 7. 4(N14) 8(N01), [total, no commodity given]
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
ATU 5, pl. 071, W 9579,cc
Obverse: 2(N01), AB2 NUN~a ZATU639 LAM~b NIMGIR GU4 (2 units: cow [qualified by] NUN~a, ZATU639, LAM~b, herald, ox) 1(N01), AB2 X BA# [...] (1 unit: cow [qualified by] the unread sign X; disbursed(?) — remainder broken) 1(N01), AB2 SZE~b UNUG~a (1 unit: cow [qualified by] barley, Uruk) 4(N01), AB2# GU4 ZATU639 UNUG~a (4 units: cow(?), ox, ZATU639, Uruk)
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
ATU 5, pl. 077, W 9579,dv
1. 2(N34) 2(N01) — [designation:] NUN 2. 1(N34) 2(N14) — she-goats (UD5) 3. 4(N14) 9(N01) [...] — [...] wethers / castrated male sheep (UDUNITA) 4. 4(N14) 1(N01) — [designation:] NIR-UKKIN-UTUA 5. 7(N34) 3(N14) 8(N01) — sheep (UDU), disbursed (BA)
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
ATU 5, pl. 089, W 9656,ab
(Obverse, case 1) 1(N01) — |1(N58).BAD~a| (case 2) 1(N01) — ZATU689 (case 3) [...] — ZAG~b [...] (case 4) 1(N01) — ZATU693, UKKIN~a (case 5) 1(N01) — AK~a (case 6) 1(N01) [...] — [...] (Reverse/final case) [...] 9(N01) — [...] KU6~a NUN~b
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
ATU 7, pl. 018, W 19416,a
1. 2(N14) — MA (vessel/boat-sign), ZATU735~b (unidentified sign) 2. 2(N14) — GU, SIG2~b, HAŠḪUR (apple/orchard-fruit) 3. 2(N01) — DIN, GAN~c×LAGAB~b (compound field/enclosure sign) 4. 2(N01) — GAN~c×X (compound sign, second element illegible) 5. 1(N14)# — GAN~b 6. [...] GI, SAR~a׊E~a (compound sign), DA~a 7. [...] — DIN 8. 7(N01)# — MA 9. 2(N34) — HAŠḪUR (apple/orchard-fruit) 10. 2(N14) — MA, ZATU735~b 11. SAR~a׊E~a#, A#, [...]
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
MS 3009
(Obverse) 2(N14) , U2~b DI — 20 units of fodder/plant-material, [sign] DI 3(N14) 4(N01) , ZATU842 EN~a — 34 units of [ZATU842], (for/under) the EN (lord/high official) 2(N14) , UNUG~a — 20 units, (of/at) Uruk , — (word/entry divider) 2(N14) , SAG IB~a — 20 units, SAG-IB (a category or personnel/commodity heading) 3(N14) 2(N01) , ERIN — 32, troop-personnel/labor-gang 3(N14) , NUNUZ~a2 — 30, NUNUZ (grain/seed category) 2(N34) 3(N14) 6(N01) , KISZ GAL~a# SANGA~a# EN~a#? [...] — (large total sign) 36, total/sum(?), the great sanga-official, the EN (lord) [...broken...] (Reverse: broken/effaced by…
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
MS 3010
(Numerical/administrative notation tablet — proto-cuneiform, no verbal syntax; each line records a count and an associated sign-group) 1. 1(N01) — SAL ("woman"/female category) 2. 6(N01) — ŠA3~a1 (compound sign, "interior/heart"-element, uncertain commodity or institutional designation) 3. 2(N01) — NINDA2×X (compound bread/ration sign with attached qualifier) 4. 1(N01) — KUR~a, |U4×1(N57)| ("highland/foreign-land" sign together with a compound U4-numeral sign) 5. 9(N01) — X X (two signs, illegible/unidentified due to surface damage) 6. 1(N01) — DU8~c×HI(?) (compound sign, reading of the HI-el…
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
MS 3160
1. 5(N01), PAP~a, UZ — "5 (N01-units): PAP~a [supervisory/summary mark], UZ [commodity/bird sign]" 2. 1(N14), SI NAGA E2~b(?) — "1 (N14-unit): SI [horn(?)] NAGA [sign, uncertain] E2~b [house/storehouse, sign damaged]" 3. 4(N01), SZUBUR — "4 (N01-units): Šubur [personal name or worker-class designation]" 4. 3(N01), EZEM~c — "3 (N01-units): EZEM [festival-sign, variant c]" 5. 7(N01), PA~a — "7 (N01-units): PA~a [overseer/category mark]" 6. 4(N14) 2(N01), BARA2~a — "4 (N14-units), 2 (N01-units): BARA2~a [institutional/dais category]" 7. 6(N14), SZE~a BA ERIN — "6 (N14-units) of barley: disbursed…
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
MS 3171
1. 5(N01) units: sheep (UDU) — DIM(?) 2. 5(N01) units: HAL — PAP (supervisory/summary marker) 3. 5(N01) units: ŠUR — [illegible sign] 4. 4(N01) units: ZATU678(?) [undeciphered sign] 5. 3(N14) units: LAGAB×(HI×N04) [compound sign, undeciphered] 6. 4(N01) units: ZATU753 [undeciphered sign] 7. 6(N01) units: goat (MAŠ2) 8. 3(N01) units: BIR — cow (AB2) 9. 4(N01) units: GA2×NUN [compound sign, undeciphered] 10. 5(N01) units: PA — ZATU659(?) [undeciphered sign] 11. 3(N01) units: DA 12. ŠUR [no quantity given] 13. URU (settlement/city sign) — 8(N57) units
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodOur engine
MS 4485
1(N01) , GAL ("great/large") — SZU2 ("into the hand" / receipt marker) — 3(N57) 1(N01) , GESZTU ("ear") — SZIM (aromatic/resin) — SZU ("hand") 1(N01) , SI4 (sign, meaning uncertain) 1(N01) , GAN2(?) ("field") — UR3xMASZ (compound sign, meaning uncertain) 1(N01) , SI ("horn") — UR3 (sign, meaning uncertain) 1(N01) , ZATU844 (unidentified sign) — AMAR ("calf/young animal") (damaged) — X X [...] (illegible/broken)
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
AoF 30, 238,1
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — AoF 30, 238,1. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 003, W 6108
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 003, W 6108. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 010, W 6611
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 010, W 6611. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,a
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,a. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 015, W 6748,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 015, W 6748,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 035, W 9123,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 035, W 9123,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 037, W 9123,w
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 037, W 9123,w. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 038, W 9123,ac
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 038, W 9123,ac. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,c
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,c. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,e
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,e. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,g
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,g. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 051, W 9312,f
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 051, W 9312,f. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 052, W 9312,l
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 052, W 9312,l. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,a
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,a. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,d
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,d. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,e
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 053, W 9335,e. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 054, W 9335,i
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 054, W 9335,i. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9578,q
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9578,q. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9579,a
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9579,a. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9579,c
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 061, W 9579,c. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,f
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,f. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,g
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,g. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,h
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,h. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,i
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,i. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,l
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 062, W 9579,l. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,m
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,m. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,n
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,n. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,o
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,o. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,p
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,p. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,q
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 063, W 9579,q. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 065, W 9579,y
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 065, W 9579,y. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ac
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ac. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ad
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ad. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,af
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,af. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ai
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,ai. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,al
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 066, W 9579,al. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 067, W 9579,ao
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 067, W 9579,ao. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
~3300 BCE·Uruk PeriodEditorial
ATU 5, pl. 067, W 9579,ap
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 067, W 9579,ap. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy