Chapter 01 · 4000 – 3100 BCE
Uruk Period
The birth of the city, the birth of writing.
~3100 BCE · CUNES 52-11-024 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 195
In plain English
This is a ledger of goods. The first entry records 70 units of something written GA2-LAGAB-A-SIG. The next entry is broken. Five units are marked as consumed. Ten units are listed with the lord or high official (EN). Another entry seems to count cakes and beer. After that comes a quantity of what may be a dairy product. Several more entries are too damaged to read, apart from a line naming UR5, SZU, AN and NUNUZ. The reverse is almost completely worn away, but a mention of a field survives.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. [...] 7(N14) (= 70 units): GA2~a2 LAGAB~b A SIG 2. [...] : [...] 3. 5(N01) (= 5 units): consumption (GU7) 4. 1(N14) (= 10 units): EN (the lord/official) — DU — GA2~a1 5. 1(N22): GUG2 cakes (?), beer (KASZ~a), BAR 6. 5(N14) 2(N22): DUR~a GA~a (milk/dairy product ?) 7. [...] : X 8. X UR5~a SZU AN NUNUZ~c ZATU788 9. [...] : [...] (Reverse / edge) 10. [...] field (GAN2) [...]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 50-08-089 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 199
In plain English
The surviving part is a short tally. One unit is listed for someone or something called NIM, two for the SUKKAL, the official later known as a minister, and an unknown amount for a work troop. Two more are entered under DU together with three smaller units for women, and two under an entry that may read PU. The line after that begins with one unit, but the rest is broken off. The start of the list and everything after these lines are lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse (fragment; beginning, right side and end broken) 1. [...] 1 [...], [...] 2. [...], [...] 3. 1: NIM~a 4. 2: SUKKAL (minister) 5. [...]: work troop 6. [...], [...] 7. 2: DU, 3 (small N57 units) female (workers) 8. 2: PU2(?) [...] 9. 1 [...], [...] (Rest of the obverse lost. The reverse and edges show no text that can be read.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · CUNES 50-08-078 — Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 202
In plain English
This is a short list of handouts. The first entry gives a small measure of grain to someone or something written A-ŠU₂-SAL, and the next line is lost. Two more entries each get one unit: the first goes to a name we can't read, the second to an entry written with the sign PAP followed by an unreadable sign. After two more broken lines, one unit goes to the 'house of the Tigris', perhaps an estate or storehouse by the river. Another unit is beer, marked with signs we can't fully read. Another line is lost. The tablet ends with a label, NE-DU-TE-BU, which might name the official, the office or the reason for the handouts.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse (?): [...] 1 small grain-measure unit (N39a): A ŠU₂ SAL [...]: [...] 1 (unit): X X 1 (unit): PAP~a X [...] 1 (unit): [...] [...]: [...] 1 (unit): the house (E₂~a) of the Tigris (IDIGNA) 1 (unit): beer (KAŠ~a) X BU~a [...]: [...] (Summary or subscript line:) NE~a DU TE BU~a”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · RMC 196 — Rare Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 217
In plain English
What survives is a list of amounts, each written in tens. One entry is fifty of something, now lost. Another is thirty, apparently of a kind of grain. There is a second entry of thirty, where the item's name can't be read, and two entries of twenty whose items are missing. Near the end, an entry names someone or something with a word that may mean 'head' or 'chief', but the rest breaks off. Many other lines are too damaged to read. The back of the tablet has another number and a few signs, but they have not been read.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse (column structure not marked in the transliteration) 1. [...] 5 tens (5 N14) [...], [...] 2. 3 tens (3 N14): ŠE~a.NAM2 (a grain-related entry) 3. [...], [...] 4. [...], [...] 5. 3 tens (3 N14): [an unidentified sign] [...] 6. [...], [...] 7. 2 tens (2 N14) [...], [...] 8. 2 tens (2 N14) [...], [...] 9. [...]: GIR3@g~b, head (SAG) [...] 10. [...], [...] (The transliteration gives nothing for the reverse. See reasoning.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · RMC 197 — Rare Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, Ithaca, New York, USA
CUSAS 01, 219
In plain English
A list of allocations. The first entry, 1 full unit plus 1 smaller unit, goes to the recipient written MUD-NA-BU, together with the "fish-courtyard" office. Next come 2 small units for AN-GIR, 3 for UB-ZI, 2 for NUNUZ-AMA, 1 for ŠIM-E (perhaps a "house of aromatics" or brewing unit) and 1 for a last recipient whose name starts with KI; the rest of that name is broken off. The back of the tablet is blank.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. 1 [unit] and 1 [fractional unit]: MUD NA BU KU6 KISAL ("fish – courtyard") 2. 2 [fractional units]: AN GIR3@g 3. 3 [fractional units]: UB ZI 4. 2 [fractional units]: NUNUZ AMA 5. 1 [fractional unit]: ŠIM E2 6. 1 [fractional unit]: KI [...] Reverse (nothing inscribed)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · Anonymous 235781 — private: anonymous, unlocated
CUSAS 31, 047
In plain English
The first lines are lost except for a number: 10. The next entry lists 12 under a heading that seems to mean 'elder' or 'overseer', tied to an official or office written with the combined 'lord-prince' sign. An entry that mentions NA2 has lost its number. Next come 2 under 'plow' and 1 under what may be 'she-goat'. After another break, the back gives the total, 10, with the label KISZ, a term whose meaning here is unclear.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse [...] [...] 10 (N14) 10 (N14), 2 (N01): PAP~a? EN~a+NUN~b [...] NA2~b? 2 (N01): APIN~a (plow) 1 (N01): UD5~a (she-goat?) [...] Reverse 10 (N15) KISZ”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · X.3.222 — Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CUSAS 31, 054
In plain English
An account of goods and livestock. The first entry, partly lost, lists calf-related animals or products belonging to a household or cattle-stall. Next come 26 units of salt, 5 calf entries described as 'from the highland', and 3 units of salt tied to a 'house', probably an institution. After a break, the tablet lists 2 units of an item we can't identify. The last lines are almost all lost: only fragments survive, including the signs BAR and MAR, and nothing in them can be translated.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse(?) 1. [...] cow-calf (DU8×AMAR), household / cattle-stall (AB) 2. 26 salt (MUN) 3. 5 highland (KUR) cow-calf (DU8×AMAR) 4. 3 salt (MUN), house (E2) 5. [...] 6. 2 U4×2(N57) [meaning unknown] 7. [...] (unreadable sign) 8. [...] BAR 9. [...] 10. [...] (unreadable sign) MAR (The transliteration does not mark where the obverse ends and the reverse begins. All ten lines are given above.)”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3100 BCE · X.3.226 — Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
CUSAS 31, 055
In plain English
The first line is a heading or category (KISZ), and the rest of it is broken off. Below it are two entries for what is probably salt: 5 units and then 3 units, with the rest of each line lost. A figure of 20 follows, and then another line is missing. On the back, 5 units go with a period of 3 days, and 4 units go with a single day. That second entry also carries a sign whose meaning is unknown. The last line on the back is lost.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Obverse 1. KISZ [...] 2. salt(?): 5 units [...] 3. salt(?): 3 units [...] 4. 20 (2 × N14) 5. [...] Reverse 1. 5 units: 3 days (U4 × 3) 2. 4 units: 1 day (U4 × 1), ZATU669 3. [...]”
Source: engine:claude-opus-5 (2026-07-12/v7-evolved) · claude-opus-5 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry