Sumerian Clay Tablet with Administrative Records

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Sumerian Clay Tablet with Administrative Records

Place of OriginIraq, Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem)

Dateabout 2040 BCE

DimensionsH: 1 9/16 in. (4.0 cm); W: 1 5/16 in. (3.4 cm); Depth: 3/8 in. (1.0 cm)

MediumClay

ClassificationUtilitarian Objects

Credit LineGift of Carl B. Spitzer

Object number

1932.36

Not on View

Collections

Decorative Arts

Published ReferencesVan der Meiroop, Marc, "Cuneiform Tablets from The Toledo Museum of Art," Revue d'Assyriologie, no. 1, 1985, p. 18, repr. p. 27. “RA 079, 027 21 Artifact Entry.” 2001. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). December 20, 2001. https://cdli.ucla.edu/P128046. http://bdtns.filol.csic.es/catalogo_directo_new.php?numBDTS=028724 https://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/epsd2/P128046Exhibition HistoryToledo, University of Toledo, William Carlson Library, History and Importance of Books, 1978, p. [5] repr.Label TextThis clay tablet, inscribed in Sumerian cuneiform, records a livestock transaction from the Ur III period (ca. 2100-2000 BC). It was excavated from Puzriš-Dagan (modern Drehem, Iraq), an administrative center for the distribution of goods and animals in ancient Mesopotamia. Such tablets played a crucial role in record-keeping for temple and state economies.