The oldest known written language, cuneiform, first
used by the ancient peoples of the Near East over
5000 years ago, is composed of a series of wedge-
shaped incisions made with a sharpened reed stylus.
This script was adopted by all the major civilizations
of Mesopotamia for recording their distinct
languages, including the Sumerians, Akkadians,
Assyrians, and Babylonians. Clay tablets were the
preferred media for everyday writing because they
could either be easily recycled or, if a permanent
record was required, fired in a kiln and preserved.
The earliest recorded inscriptions are not myths of
histories, but rather banal economic transactions and
accounting documents. Later, one of the most
famous written works of the ancient world,
Hammurabi’s code, was recorded in the cuneiform
script. While these marks may appear obscure and
mysterious to our eyes, scholars have made much
progress in deciphering cuneiform after discovering
inscriptions on the Behistun Rock, a cliff in western
Iran. Much like the Rosetta Stone, the Behistun
Inscription contained the same text written in three
different languages (Persian, Babylonian, and
Elamite), all of which utilized the cuneiform system of
writing. Due to the resemblance of these languages
to modern ones, scholars were able to crack to code.
This terracotta tablet reveals just how intricate a
system of writing cuneiform was. In the hands of a
talented scribe, a remarkable amount of information
could be squeezed into a relatively small space and
yet still remain legible. Both the front and back of
this tablet have been written on, containing a total of
one hundred sixty-three lines of text. Like most
tablets that survive, the text is fairly mundane, listing
expense accounts and giving the equivalent
monetary value for a range of items, including slaves,
fine oils, dates, textiles and "1 mina of cedar essence,
1/2 mina of kohl, 1/2 mina of sweet reed, 1/2 sila of
cumin, 1/3 mina of myrtle." Compiled by IIum-nasir
and dated over a full calendar year, from the month
of Nisan, to the month of Addar, the year after the
chariot canal was dug, this fascinating tablet may
have been little more than an invoice or contract
during its own time. However, today, this work
provides valuable insight into the domestic affairs of
the Ancient Babylonians while also serving as an
astounding example of how aesthetically refined the
cuneiform script was.
- (X.0130)
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