Table of Contents Table of Contents v Preface x List of Figures xiii 1. Introduction 1 1.1. Lexical Lists and Intellectual History 2 1.2 Lexical Lists: A Crash Course 6 1.2.1 Word Lists vs. Sign Lists 6 1.2.1.1 Thematic Word Lists 7 1.2.1.2 Other Types of Word Lists 8 1.2.1.3 Sign Lists 11 1.2.2 Third Millennium vs. Old Babylonian (and later) 13 1.2.3 Exercises and Reference Texts 14 1.3 History of Research 16 1.3.1 Lexical Lists as Ancient Dictionaries 16 1.3.2 Lexical Lists as Evidence for Cultural History 19 1.4 Organization of the Present Study and its Relation to DCCLT 23 2. The Archaic Lexical Corpus 27 2.1 Introduction 27 2.1.1 Archaic Writing 27 2.1.2 Conventions of Archaic Cuneiform Transliterations 30 2.2 Overview of the Archaic Lexical Corpus 32 2.2.1 The Standardized Compositions 32 2.2.1.1 Professions: Lu A 34 2.2.1.2 Vessels and Garments 37 2.2.1.3 Word Lists C 39 2.2.1.4 Metals 41 2.2.1.5 Wood 41 2.2.1.6 Cattle 42 2.2.1.7 Officials 42 2.2.1.8 Fish 43 2.2.1.9 Cities 43 2.2.1.10 Geography 44 2.2.1.11 Food (Grain; Word List D) 44 2.2.1.12 Birds 45 2.2.1.13 Plants 46 2.2.2 Non-Standardized Exercises 46 2.2.3 Formats and Find Spots 47 2.3 The Administrative Context 48 2.3.1 A Metals Account 49 2.3.2 Animals 51 2.3.3 Lexical Texts as Administrative Reference Tools? 52 2.4 Interpretations of the Archaic Corpus 53 2.4.1 Order of the World 53 2.4.2 Teaching Tools 56 2.4.3 Writing as a Social Practice 57 2.5 Conclusions 59 3. Third Millennium: All-Babylonian, Regional, and Local Traditions 60 http://d-nb.info/1062637240 vi Table of Contents 3.1 Third Millennium Lexical Texts: Provenance and Appearance 62 3.1.1 Lexical Texts: Distribution in Time and Place 62 3.1.2 Tablet Formats and Colophons 68 3.2 The All-Babylonian Lexical Tradition: Conservatism in Degrees 71 3.2.1 ED Lu A 72 3.2.2 Vessels and Garments 76 3.2.3 Word List C ("Tribute") 79 3.2.4 Metals 82 3.2.5 Wood 83 3.2.6 Cattle 85 3.2.7 Officials 86 3.2.8 Fish 88 3.2.9 Cities 91 3.2.10 Word List F 92 3.2.11 Food 93 3.2.12 Birds 96 3.2.13 Plants 98 3.2.14 Conclusions: The Archaic Texts in Early Dynastic Versions 102 3.3 Regional: ED Northern Tradition 103 3.3.1 ED LuE 105 3.3.2 Names and Professions 107 3.3.3 List of Geographical Names 108 3.3.4 ED Animals B 109 3.3.5 Practical Vocabulary A 111 3.3.6 The SamaS Myth 112 3.3.7 Northern Features 112 3.4 Regional: ED Southern Lexical Texts 116 3.4.1 Thematic Word Lists 117 3.4.2 Practical Vocabularies 119 3.4.3 Sign Lists 123 3.4.4 ED Syllabaries 126 3.4.5 Unclear and Unclassified 128 3.4.6 Southern Lists 129 3.5 Local: ED Ebla 129 3.5.1 Mesopotamian Lexical Tradition at Ebla 130 3.5.2 Local Ebla Lists 132 3.5.2.1 Ebla Sign List 133 3.5.2.2 ESbarkin, Ebla Vocabulary and the Extracts 135 3.5.3 Ebla: Conclusions 138 3.6 Old Akkadian and Ur III Periods 139 3.6.1 Old Akkadian 139 3.6.2 Ur III 140 3.7 Conclusions 142 4. A Revolution in Writing: The Old Babylonian Period 143 4.1 Old Babylonian Lexical Novelties 143 4.1.1 Sign Exercises and Name Lists 144 4.1.1.1 Syllable Alphabet A and Syllable Alphabet B 145 4.1.1.2 TuTaTi 147 4.1.1.3 Lists ofNames 148 4.1.2 Word Lists 149 4.1.2.1 Ura 149 Table of Contents vii 4.1.2.2 Ugumu "My Crown:" List of Body Parts 157 4.1.2.3 Lists of Human Beings 159 4.1.2.4 Acrographic Lists 166 4.1.2.4.1 Izi 170 4.1.2.4.2 Kagal 171 4.1.2.4.3 Nigga 174 4.1.2.4.4 Sag 175 4.1.2.5 Miscellaneous Vocabularies 175 4.1.3 Sign Lists 177 4.1.3.1 Syllabary A 177 4.1.3.2 EaandAa 178 4.1.3.3 Diri 182 4.1.4 Varia 187 4.1.4.1 Legal Phrasebooks 188 4.1.4.2 Grammatical Lists -. 194 4.1.4.2.1 Verbal Paradigms 195 4.1.4.2.2 Grammatical Vocabularies 197 4.1.4.3 God Lists 199 4.1.5 Old Babylonian Lexical Novelties: Some Conclusions 201 4.2 The Uses of Old Babylonian Lexical Lists 202 4.2.1 The Scribal Curriculum at Nippur 204 4.2.2 Scribal Curriculum: Variations and Developments 212 4.2.3 Scholarly Handbooks 215 4.2.3.1 Archaic Knowledge 216 4.2.3.2 Systematizing Knowledge 219 4.2.3.3 Speculative Philology 220 4.3 The Old Babylonian Writing Revolution 223 5. The International Period 226 5.1 Middle Babylonian Lexical Novelties 229 5.1.1 Syllabary B 230 5.1.2 Syllabary A Vocabulary 232 5.1.3 Syllabary A Paleography 233 5.1.4 Nabnitu 233 5.1.5 GrimhuS 235 5.1.6 The God List An = Anum 237 5.2. Kassite Babylonia 239 5.2.1 Lexical Texts from Kassite Babylonia: Criteria 241 5.2.1.1 Kassite Archaeological Data 241 5.2.1.2 Kassite Paleography and Orthography 242 5.2.1.3 Tablet Typology: Kassite Exercise Formats 242 5.2.1.4 Layout of Kassite Multi-Column Tablets 245 5.2.2 The Kassite Lexical Corpus 250 5.2.2.1 Kassite Thematic Lists: Ura 250 5.2.2.2 Kassite Lists of Professions: Lu2 = sa 252 5.2.2.3 Kassite Sign Lists: Syllabary B, Ea and Diri 253 5.2.2.4 Kassite God Lists 256 5.2.2.5 Kassite Acrographic Lists 258 5.2.2.6 Kassite ErimhuS and Nabnitu 259 5.2.2.7 Kassite Grammatical Lists 260 5.2.3 The Kassite Lexical Corpus: A Characterization 260 5.2.4 Uses of Kassite Lexical Texts 261 viii Table of Contents 5.3 The West 269 5.3.1 HattuSa 271 5.3.1.1 Some Examples of HattuSa Lexical Texts 272 5.3.1.2 HattuSa Lexical Texts: Formats and Distribution 276 5.3.2 Emar and Ugarit 279 5.3.2.1 Emar: Introduction 280 5.3.2.2 Syrian and Syro-Hittite Lexical Texts at Emar 283 5.3.2.3 The Syrian Lexical Corpus at Emar 285 5.3.2.4 The Syro-Hittite Lexical Corpus at Emar 286 5.3.2.5 The Lexical Texts at the Zu-Ba'la Residence 294 5.3.2.6 Ugarit 297 5.3.2.7 Other Sites: Alalakh, Nuzi, Ekalte, and Siyannu 300 5.3.3 Akhetaten (Amarna) and Canaan 302 5.4 Elam: Intellectual Tradition at Kabnak (Haft Tepe) 304 5.4.1 Scholarly Literacy at Kabnak 305 5.4.2 The Kabnak School Texts 307 5.5 Conclusions 311 6. The Kings and Scholars of Assyria 312 6.1 The Earliest Periods 313 6.2 The Middle Assyrian Period 317 6.2.1 Middle Assyrian Lexical Novelty: The Emesal Vocabulary 318 6.2.2 Sibaniba (Tell Billa) 320 6.2.3 Assur 322 6.2.3.1 The Assur Lexical Corpus: Overview 324 6.2.3.1.1 Ea: The Ea Extracts 326 6.2.3.1.2 Ki-ulutinbiSe: A Nippur Phrasebookat Assur 328 6.2.3.1.3 lira: Assyrian Dialect Forms 330 6.2.3.2 Middle Assyrian Exercise Texts 332 6.2.3.3 The Tablets of the Sons of Ninurta-uballissu 336 6.2.3.4 Babylonian Sign Forms and Paleographic Lists 341 6.2.3.5 Sumerian and Emesal in Middle Assyrian Assur 347 6.2.3.6 Conclusions: Lexical Texts in the Middle Assyrian Period 351 6.3 Lexical Texts in the Neo-Assyrian Period 353 6.3.1 Neo-Assyrian Lexical Novelties 354 6.3.1.1 Sign List: A2 = idu 355 6.3.1.2 Thematic Lists: The Practical Vocabularies 357 6.3.1.3 Other Word Lists: Igituh and Alan = Lanu 358 6.3.1.4 Akkadian Synonym Lists 360 6.3.1.5 Antagal and Group Vocabularies 361 6.3.1.6 Murgud 363 6.3.1.7 Assyrian Innovations? 366 6.3.2 Assur in the Neo-Assyrian Period 367 6.3.2.1 Lexical Exercises from Assur 369 6.3.3 Kalhu 372 6.3.4 Dur-Sarrukin 374 6.3.5 Nineveh 375 6.3.5.1 Context: Knowledge, Wisdom, Secrets 379 6.3.5.2 Uses: Scribal Education of the Crown Prince 382 6.3.5.3 Uses: Tablet Collecting 385 6.3.5.4 Uses: Interpreting Received Tradition 387 6.3.6 Huzirina 389 Table of Contents ix 6.4 Conclusions 390 7. Temples, Scholars, and Students 392 7.1 Introduction 392 7.2 The Neo- and Late Babylonian Lexical Corpus 397 7.2.1 The Lexical Corpus 397 7.2.2 Lexical Innovations 400 7.2.2.1 Lexical Commentaries 400 7.2.2.2 S" Number Syllabaries 404 7.2.2.3 Non-standardized Exercises 405 7.3 Lexical Texts as School Exercises 406 7.3.1 Elementary Level 407 7.3.2 Advanced Level 410 7.4 Scholars and Libraries of Late Babylonian Uruk 418 7.5 Conclusions 422 8.