Chapter 01 · 4000 – 3100 BCE
Uruk Period
The birth of the city, the birth of writing.
~3100 BCE · CUNES 50-11-065 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 177
In plain English
What survives is a short ledger. The first entry records one unit of fish, tagged with the sign KA; the next lines note two units of one denomination plus one of another, then one of a larger measure with one of a smaller. A damaged entry follows, then one unit marked "small" (or "junior"), one unit reckoned in bundles, and another single unit. Near the bottom, three units appear beside the notation TA, and the final line is lost. The reverse carries nothing readable.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1 (N₀₁) — fish (KU6~a), KA~a 2 (N₀₂), 1 (N₅₈) 1 (N₀₄), 1 (N₀₂) [...] , [...] 1 (N₀₂) [...] 1 (N₀₁) — TUR ("small"/"junior") [...] 1 (N₀₁) — GI(?) (bundle-unit), (one further sign, unread) 1 (N₀₁) [...] [...] 3 (N₀₁) [...] , TA~a [...] , [...] (Reverse: no legible signs preserved.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-01-104 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 178
In plain English
A short ledger. Three units of fish for the courtyard; three units of SI and ME; three units for the bird and the house; two units handed over; three units delivered under BU; three units and three small measures for the supervisor; six units for Šuruppak. Signed off to the lord, EN — TE — issued. On the back, the accountant adds the sum: twenty-three units in total, charged to the same lord. The individual commodity terms are archaic and several cannot be pinned to a modern word, but the arithmetic still balances.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse column i 1. 3 (units) — fish, (of/for) the courtyard 2. 3 (units) — SI (horn?), ME 3. 3 (units) — bird (1 N57 + MUŠEN), house 4. 2 (units) — RU (given/deposited) 5. 3 (units) — BU, delivered (DU) 6. 3 (units), 3 (small units N57) — PAP (supervisor/elder) 7. 6 (units) — Šuruppak 8. EN (the lord), TE, allotted (BA) Reverse 9. 2 (N14 = large units) 3 (units) [= 23 in all] — EN (the lord), TE, allotted (BA)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-10-014 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 181
In plain English
Eight units of the commodity written with the DU and ZATU737-in-BUR signs. One unit each for: a TI-GIR₃ entry, a potter, a delivery to the household, a ZATU773 item, and one for the lord's inner quarters. Thirteen units of water/canal work received. Five units disbursed of the same DU/ZATU737-in-BUR commodity. Three units received of fine goods under the supervisor. Five fish. Whether the last entries are a running total or a separate account cannot be determined; several boxes are damaged at the edges.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“8 (units): DU, |ZATU737×BUR| 1 (unit): TI GIR₃ (a personnel/animal designation) 1 (unit): BAHAR₂ — potter 1 (unit): DU, E₂ — house(hold) 1 (unit): ZATU773 1 (unit): EN, ŠA₃ — the lord, the inner (quarter/heart) 13 (units): A ŠU — water/canal, received 5 (units): BA (allotted), DU, |ZATU737×BUR| 3 (units): ŠU (received), SAL, PAP — fine (goods)/female, the supervisor 5 (units): KU₆ — fish (The tablet is inscribed on both faces; the surviving entries are given here in the order of the transliteration. Several cases are chipped at the edges and their signs are only partly preserved.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-10-018 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 182
In plain English
This is an inventory list. One entry, marked with a single unit of a special counting system, may be cloth linked to a household or a god. Single units follow for two items we can't identify, then one sheep and one entry marked SUHUR, which may be a fish. A heading or subtotal line follows. After a damaged spot, the list goes on with 10 of one item, a group of signs that may name an office or an allotment, another 10, 2 of a compound item, and a line that may point to a settlement. The end is badly worn, but it still shows 4 of one item and 2 of something whose name is lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse(?), column i 1. [...] — AB (household/institution) 2. 1 (N08 unit) — AN BA TUG₂ (cloth / garment) 3. 1 — ZATU776 UR₂ 4. 1 — sheep (UDU) 5. 1 — SUHUR 6. ZATU776 AB MU Column ii (or continuation) 7. [...] — [...] 8. 10 — X [...] 9. AB AN BA 10. 10 — LAGAB׊ITA LAGAB׊ITA 11. 2 — ZATU710 LAGAB HI@g 12. LAGAB URU AN BA (Break or damaged section) 13. [...] — [...] 14. 4 — LAGAB׊ITA 15. 2 — [...] (The rest is lost or uninscribed)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-10-027 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 184
In plain English
A list of counts, each set against a name or title. The first box gives 640 to an entry with two signs we can't identify. The next gives 610 to a musician, marked with the sign A. The third box is lost. Then 600 goes to an official entry that mentions a settlement and the sign UR. After that comes 50 for a place marker and a lord or high official (EN). The last boxes are broken. Only a few signs survive at the very end, and they can't be read. The tablet never says what these numbers are counting.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 1(N45) 4(N14) [i.e. 640, if the sexagesimal counting system is used]: GIR3@g~b ZATU773~a 2. 1(N45) 1(N14) [610]: NAR A 3. [...]: [...] 4. 1(N45) [600]: ME~a KU3~a URU~a1 UR~a 5. 5(N14) [50]: URU~a1xKI EN~a 6. [...]: [...] 7. [...]: X X X (Reverse and edges: no text visible in the photograph)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-10-006 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 187
In plain English
This is a list of lambs, and possibly other items, each matched to a person or office. The first two entries go to someone written 'GA', but the rest of those lines is broken. Next come a lamb for UMUN2 DU and a lamb for the SANGA, the temple administrator, marked DUB. The EN, a high-ranking official, gets an entry with five LAGAB marks and a lamb. The next two lines are lost, and the two after that keep only a LAGAB and a lamb; the names beside them are broken. The last entries give a LAGAB to the fish department (GA2 KU6) and one to GISZ3. The tablet ends with 'SZU TUR', perhaps a closing note or a signature.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“(Obverse; the transliteration does not mark any surface or edge divisions) 1. Lamb(?) — GA [...] [...] 2. [Lamb(?)] — GA [...] 3. Lamb(?), LAGAB — UMUN2 DU 4. Lamb(?) — SANGA DUB 5. EN — LAGAB LAGAB LAGAB LAGAB LAGAB, lamb(?) 6. [...] — [...] 7. [...] — [...] 8. LAGAB — [...] 9. Lamb(?) — [...] 10. LAGAB — GA2 KU6 (fish) 11. LAGAB — GISZ3 12. SZU TUR”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 51-10-008 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 188
In plain English
Five measures went to the chief (the next sign is unclear), for day 1. Five measures went to the official known as EN2, with a further 3 units noted, but the rest of that line is broken. Five measures went to the town overseer for the beer festival, on day 4. The total consumed during the beer festival is logged for day 6. The back of the tablet has no writing.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 5 (units, N05 numeral) — great/chief (GAL) … [X]; day 1 [...] 2. 5 (N05) — EN2, 3 (N57 units) [...] 3. 5 (N05) — overseer (PA) of the settlement (URU); beer festival (EZEN×KAŠ); day 4 4. Consumed (GU7): beer festival (EZEN×KAŠ); day 6 Reverse (uninscribed / no text given in the transliteration)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 52-17-001 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 193
In plain English
The record begins with one sheep, one carp and one of another kind of fish. The next entry is lost. Then comes a small fractional amount marked NE KI, followed by entries that are too damaged to read, and a note naming the AB office with a date-like 'day 1' sign. On the back, after a broken entry, there are small fractional amounts of an item we can't identify. The fraction marked NE KI appears again, along with another 'day 1' note for the AB office. The account ends with what looks like a closing note: goods of the AB office, perhaps marked 'red' or 'processed', that were eaten or given out.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 1 (unit): sheep (UDU~a) 2. 1 (unit): SUHUR-fish (carp) 3. 1 (unit): [a fish-type] (|ZATU759xKU6~a|) 4. [...]: [...] 5. 1 (N26 fraction): NE~a KI 6. [...]: X X 7. [...]: [...] 8. AB~a |U4x1(N01)| [...] Reverse 1. [...]: [...] 2. [...] 1 (N24) 1 (N28): |ZATU714xHI@g~a| 3. 1 (N26 fraction): NE~a KI 4. |U4x1(N01)| AB~a 5. AB~a SI4~f GU7”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry