ANTH 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Tudigong, Nammu, Commensalism
19 Dec 2017
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Document Summary
Pollock, susan 1991 focus on very specifically. Stone, elizabeth 2005 overarching analysis of patterns of daily life. Pictographs (late uruk period) and cuneiform tablets (2500 b. c. ) important sources of information. Ur iii has abstract, dense form of writing. Used by merchants, priests and specialists but not everyone knew how to write. In early dynastic period vast majority of documents appear to be economic in nature, which speaks to specialization. Leases, contracts, law codes, religious texts, astrology/astronomy texts and medical texts all written on cuneiform. Sumerian medical tablet 2400 b. c. recovered from site nippur. Cylinder seals and stamps used to officiate documents. Archaeologists picking where to excavate at sites where they are most likely to recover text. 1899-1900 university of pennsylvania excavations at nippur. Cuneiform library (royal archives) at ebla (northern mesopotamia) Over 50,000 fragments and tablets have been recovered from nippur since 1890"s. Heavy reliance on text poses problems and ignores nuances.
