Sumerian Clay Tablet with Receipt for Deliveries of Animals

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Sumerian Clay Tablet with Receipt for Deliveries of Animals

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)

Date2037 BCE

Dimensions2 1/4 × 1 11/16 × 11/16 in. (5.7 × 4.3 × 1.8 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1913.500

Not on View

DescriptionRectangular clay tablet with cuneiform inscriptions on obverse, reverse, and left edge. Well-preserved with clear text.

Label TextThis clay tablet, inscribed in Sumerian cuneiform, records the delivery of animals in the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BC). It originates from Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq), an important administrative center under the reign of King Šū-Suen. The tablet records the delivery of lambs and kids, sent by officials known as nubanda (city overseers). The animals were received by Intaea. A scribe, Nūr-Sin, recorded the transaction. Such tablets were crucial for managing the redistribution of state-controlled livestock in Mesopotamia’s highly organized economy.Published References

Langdon, S., "Miscellanea Assyriaca" in Babyloniaca: etudes de philologie Assyro-Babylonienne, 7, 1922-1923, p. 75, n. 3.

Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 18, repr. p. 22. “Babyloniaca 07, 075 03 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104761. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003743 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104761