Sumer, Southern Mesopotamia, 2055 BCE. Cuneiform 002

This Cuneiform tablet serves as an invoice for three large shipments of reeds. It comes from the Ur III Dynasty. Cuneiform is a logo-syllabic script that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. It is named for the characteristic wedge-shaped impressions which form its signs. Along with Egyptian hieroglyphs, it is one of the earliest writing systems. In the Ancient Near East, clay tablets were used as a writing medium, especially for writin in cuneiform, throughout the Bronze Age and well into the Iron Age. What these clay tablets allowed was for individuals to record who and what was significant. Text on clay tablets took the forms of myths, fables, essays, hymns, proverbs, epic poetry, laws, plants, animals, and in this case, business records.

Bibliography

“Cuneiforms, Book Collections in Special Collections and University Archives,” University of Oregon Libraries. Cuneiforms - Book Collections in Special Collections & University Archives - Research Guides at University of Oregon Libraries (uoregon.edu)

Invoice for Shipment of Reeds, Sumer, 2055 BCE. University of Oregon Special Collections & University Archives, Cuneiform 002. https://alliance-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/3uoa1r/CP71337902930001451