Position in chronology
CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 188
About this tablet
This is a fragment of one of the oldest known lists of titles and institutional categories in human history, dating to the Uruk period (roughly 3300–3000 BCE) in ancient Mesopotamia. It belongs to a well-known proto-cuneiform lexical series that scribes copied repeatedly as part of their training — a kind of standardized vocabulary of offices, roles, and administrative categories. Each entry pairs a single tally mark with a sign or compound sign, suggesting a counted list of titles or designations. The tablet is held in the Schøyen Collection in Oslo and represents one of over two hundred known copies of this particular list, making it a crucial witness to the earliest organized scribal education.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
Each line records a single item: one unit of each of the following designations or titles — NAM-ESZDA, NAM-KAB(?), NAM-DI, NAM-NAM, NAM-URU(?), PA-ŠE-NAM, NAM-RAD, AB-ME, GAL followed by an unreadable sign, and EN followed by further broken or lost text. The last legible entry records a subtotal — one N14 unit — alongside EN and the number two in a broken context that may reference a building or institution. Several of the final lines are too damaged to read.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine1(N01) , NAM-ESZDA 1(N01) , NAM2 KAB[?] 1(N01) , NAM2 DI 1(N01) , NAM2 NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 URU[?] 1(N01) , PA~a ŠE~a NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 RAD~a 1(N01) , AB~a ME~a[?] 1(N01) , GAL~a X 1(N01)[?] , EN[?] [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , X [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] 1(N01)[?] , [...] [N] 1(N14) , EN~a 2(N57) [E2 ...]
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Engine notes
read from photo10 uncertain terms ↓
- NAMESZDA — Compound title; the exact reading and meaning of this archaic compound are debated. It may designate a specific administrative or cultic office.
- NAM2 KAB? — The KAB sign reading is uncertain (marked with '?' in transliteration); the compound's institutional meaning is unclear.
- NAM2 — In later Sumerian, nam means 'fate' or functions as an abstract-noun prefix. In proto-cuneiform lexical lists it more likely marks a title or status category; precise force is debated.
- PA~a SZE~a NAM2 — PA can mean 'branch', 'wing', or 'overseer'; SZE is the sign for barley. The compound may denote an official connected to grain rations, but interpretation is uncertain at this early date.
- AB~a ME~a — AB is polyphonous: 'sea', 'father', or a title element. ME in early texts can denote divine powers or a counting term. The compound's meaning here is unclear.
- EN~b / EN~a — EN is the archaic sign for a high-status office (lord, high priest, ruler). The distinction between EN~a and EN~b variants involves subtle graphemic differences not easily resolved from this photo.
- 1(N14) — N14 is a higher-order round numeral. Its exact value depends on the metrological context; in the sexagesimal system it conventionally equals 10× N01, but this varies by commodity.
- 2(N57) — N57 is a still higher-order numerical sign; its value in this context is uncertain without clearer metrological context.
- NAM2 URU~a1#? — Both the URU sign reading and the '#?' damage notation make this entry particularly uncertain; URU normally means 'city' but its function in this compound title is unclear.
- NAM2 RAD~a — RAD is a rare or uncertain sign in proto-cuneiform; the reading and the meaning of this title compound are not firmly established.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows multiple views and fragments of a small clay tablet (museum number MS 4747 visible in handwritten ink on the left edge piece). The main face (upper centre) shows ruled horizontal lines dividing the surface into registers, with clear wedge-impressions consistent with proto-cuneiform or very early Sumerian script. The round numerical impressions (N01) are visible at the left of each register on the main face, matching the transliteration's consistent '1(N01)' prefix per line. Several compound sign groups are discernible in the right column of each register, though fine detail is difficult to resolve at this resolution — the surface is worn and some edges are chipped. The lower large fragment (bottom of image) appears to be the reverse or a related piece; only faint impressions are visible there, mostly illegible at this resolution. The top fragment (above the main face) seems to be the upper edge of the same tablet, showing partial signs. The transliteration's pattern of damage toward the lower lines (marked with # and [...]) aligns with the visible progressive erosion and breakage toward the lower right of the main face. I cannot verify the specific readings of NAM2 compounds, KAB, RAD, or the final summary line with N14 from the photo alone; the resolution does not permit sign-by-sign confirmation. The overall structure — columnar list of '1 + title-compound' entries — is consistent with known Uruk-period lexical lists such as the 'Officials' or 'Professions' list (CDLI Lexical 000002 = the so-called 'Lu₂-A' list precursor).
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 14, 2026 · 2291 in / 1331 out tokens
Transliteration
1(N01) , NAMESZDA 1(N01) , NAM2 KAB? 1(N01) , NAM2 DI 1(N01) , NAM2 NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 URU~a1#? 1(N01) , PA~a SZE~a NAM2 1(N01) , NAM2 RAD~a 1(N01) , AB~a ME~a# 1(N01) , GAL~a X 1(N01)# , EN~b#? [...] 1(N01)# , X [...] 1(N01)# , X [...] 1(N01)# , [...] 1(N01)# , [...] [N] 1(N14) , EN~a 2(N57) [E2 ...]
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)) — CDLI Lexical 000002, ex. 188. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Schøyen Collection, Oslo, Norway (P253777) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware).
Related tablets
Related sources
One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
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.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.