Sumerian Clay Tablet Recording Copper Tool Transaction
Sumerian Clay Tablet Recording Copper Tool Transaction
Place of OriginIraq, Umma (modern Tell Jokha)
DateUr III Period (about 2100-2000 BCE)
Dimensions1 11/16 × 1 7/16 in. (4.3 × 3.6 cm)
MediumClay
ClassificationUtilitarian Objects
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number
1908.84
Not on View
DescriptionRectangular clay tablet inscribed with cuneiform text in Sumerian; worn but legible impressions of wedge-shaped characters.
Label TextThis cuneiform tablet, written in Sumerian, records the receipt of copper tools in the city of Umma (modern Tell Jokha, Iraq) during the Ur III period (ca. 2100–2000 BCE). Administrative records like this one were essential for tracking the distribution of materials in Mesopotamian state economies. Copper tools played a crucial role in agriculture, construction, and craft production, highlighting the advanced economic organization of the era.Published ReferencesLangdon, S. Babyloniaca, 7, 1914, p. 68, n. 2.
Van der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, pp. 18, 34, repr. p. 35. “Babyloniaca 07, 068 2 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). August 15, 2024. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P104755. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=003737 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P104755
about 2040 BCE
about 2040 BCE
2050-2049 BCE
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