Sumerian Clay Tablet Recording Livestock Distribution

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Sumerian Clay Tablet Recording Livestock Distribution

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)

Date2047 BCE

Dimensions2 3/8 × 1 5/8 × 7/8 in. (6.1 × 4.1 × 2.2 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1913.499

Not on View

DescriptionRectangular clay tablet with cuneiform inscription. Incised wedge-shaped signs arranged in horizontal lines. Text covers both obverse and reverse sides of the tablet.

Label TextThis clay cuneiform tablet is an administrative record from the Ur III period (ca. 2100–2000 BC), specifically from King Šulgi’s reign, dated to his 47th year. Written in Sumerian, it details the transfer of oxen, cows, sheep, and goats to the royal account, with some animals described as barley-fattened or fit for plowing. The transaction was carried out by Nasa, with Ludingirra, son of Inim-Shara, officially taking charge. The date places this record in the year after Kimas was destroyed, an event referenced in other Ur III texts. This tablet was excavated from Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq), a city known for its vast administrative archives. As part of the centralized bureaucracy of the Ur III state, such records provided detailed accounts of economic transactions, taxation, and resource allocation.Published References

Langdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca" in Babyloniaca: etudes de philologie Assyro-Babylonienne, 7, 1922-1923, pp. 74-75, n. 2.

Kang, S.T., Sumerian Economic Texts from the Drehem Archive, Urbana, 1972, pp. 73-75.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 17, repr. p. 22. “Babyloniaca 07, 074 02 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104760. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003742 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104760