Sumerian Extract Tablets and Scribal Education

Delnero, Paul

doi:10.1086/jcs41103871

Cited by 39 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Likewise, as hinted above, there is now a host of evidence that Old Babylonian scribal trainees learned mathematical and literary texts piecemeal, as much by reproduction from memory as by direct copying from pre-existing exemplars; e.g. Robson (2002); Delnero (2010); cf. Vogelzang andVanstiphout (1992).…”

Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Van der Toorn (2007: 55-9), for example, mixes evidence from early second-millennium Babylonia, the seventh-century Assyrian court in Nineveh and later periods in his account of 'Mesopotamian' scribal education, frequently referring to 'the curriculum'. Delnero (2010) gives a useful critique of the notion of curriculum in the Old Babylonian period (and implicitly beyond). 4.…”

Section: Histories Of Science Geographies Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

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Ancient Knowledge Networks

2019

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Section: Notesmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Histories Of Science Geographies Of Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Ancient Knowledge Networks

2019

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“…In this respect the case of YOS 10, 42, a large (14.7 × 23.6 cm), four-column text of 234 lines, may be seen as the exception that proves the rule. This text concerns the heart and the liver's Yoke, 23 Whether these texts belonged to the curriculum of the OB school, however, seems problematic, at least in light of impressive recent advances in our understanding of that institution; see, e.g., Veldhuis (1997;; Robson (2001);Delnero (2010a;2010b); Kleinerman (2011, 1-9, with additional references); Michalowski (2011, 47-63, with additional references); Peterson (2011, with additional references). It must be stressed, however, that all these studies concern Sumerian, not Akkadian, since the former appears to be the exclusive focus of the OB scribal curriculum -at least, that is, according to the communis opinio emerging from these works.…”

Section: Analysis and Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A New OB Collection of Padānum and Related Omens in Los Angeles

Winitzer¹

2013

Zeitschrift Für Assyriologie Und Vorderasiatische Archäologie

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The following presents an edition of a heretofore-unpublished OB omen collection concerning the padanum, or "Path." As may be expected, this text, larger than most of the known padanum collections, enhances our understanding of the zone in Mesopotamian extispicy known by that name, typically the second according to the standardized inspection sequence. An examination of the text, however, reveals an interweaving of omens concerning other zones bearing the label of "Path." This interweaving raises questions about the development of extispicy literature in this period and challenges conceptions concerning its standardization -from a new perspective.1 We thank J. Berman for inviting us, twice, to the California Museum of Ancient Art, to study the tablet and for allowing its publication. Warm thanks are also extended to Bruce Zuckerman and staff of the USC West Semitic Research Project, who photographed the tablet in 2010 and also made its photos -including those accompanying this paper -available via its Inscriptifact project. It is also a pleasure to thank Andrew George, who kindly read the manuscript in a penultimate form and made invaluable suggestions. Naturally any remaining faults are ours alone. Abbreviations used herein, including those for text references, follow those of the Chicago Assyrian Dictionary (= CAD), but note also the citation of several omen collections according to their museum numbers, in keeping with the practice in secondary literature on OB extispicy.2 The tablet appears in Christie's online searchable database as well; see: http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/a-large-old-babyloniancuneiform-clay-omen-2034605details.aspx?from=searchresults&int-ObjectID=2034605&sid=ebd15991-4d6a-4a4e-9d36-b900044a3652. b Physical Description and MeasurementsCMAA030-C0001 is flat on the front side and convex on the back, and measures 23.2 × 15.9 cm. The tablet is comprised of several fragments, some glued together previous to our first encounter with it; these pieces, it is clear, are correct in their placement, and thus it seems safe to assume that this reconstruction effort took place at or near Museum NumberPublication

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“…That is, given some notional target level of standardization, how broadly is it achieved across spaces or populations? In the Sumerian and Mayan cases, writing and reading were done principally by a professional scribal class (Delnero, 2010;Houston, 1994), and most of our surviving texts were meant for consumption within the same circles in which they were produced. This should be a congenial environment for the development of small islands of high standardization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The puzzle of ideography

Morin

2022

Behav Brain Sci

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An ideography is a general-purpose code made of pictures that do not encode language, which can be used autonomously – not just as a mnemonic prop – to encode information on a broad range of topics. Why are viable ideographies so hard to find? I contend that self-sufficient graphic codes need to be narrowly specialized. Writing systems are only an apparent exception: at their core, they are notations of a spoken language. Even if they also encode non-linguistic information, they are useless to someone who lacks linguistic competence in the encoded language or a related one. The versatility of writing is thus vicarious: writing borrows it from spoken language. Why is it so difficult to build a fully generalist graphic code? The most widespread answer points to a learnability problem. We possess specialized cognitive resources for learning spoken language, but lack them for graphic codes. I argue in favor of a different account: what is difficult about graphic codes is not so much learning or teaching them as getting every user to learn and teach the same code. This standardization problem does not affect spoken or signed languages as much. Those are based on cheap and transient signals, allowing for easy online repairing of miscommunication, and require face-to-face interactions where the advantages of common ground are maximized. Graphic codes lack these advantages, which makes them smaller in size and more specialized.

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Sumerian Extract Tablets and Scribal Education

Cited by 39 publications

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Ancient Knowledge Networks

Ancient Knowledge Networks

A New OB Collection of Padānum and Related Omens in Los Angeles

The puzzle of ideography

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