MSVO 1, 010 (P005077)

Administrative tablet excavated in Uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr), dated to the Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC) period and now kept in Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures West Asia & North Africa Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Museum Collection(s)

Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures West Asia & North Africa Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Museum Number

OIM A02515

Period

Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)

Provenience

uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr)

Artifact Type

Tablet

Material(s)

Clay

Genre / Subgenre(s)

Administrative

Language(s)

Undetermined

Measurements

59.0 mm × 34.0 mm × 16.0 mm

Has seal impression(s)

Text

tablet
obverse
1. 2(N45) 5(N14)# , SZE~a
 en: 150 N1 units of barley,
2.a. , |GISZ.TE|# DU ME~a
 en: for ...,
2.b. , SZUBUR E2~a# SANGA~a#
 en: pigsty accountant;
reverse
1. 1(N50) , GAN2
 en: 10 bur3 field.
  calculation: 150N1 ÷ 10 = 15N1 barley per bur3
  following later tradition and assuming this is a seeding account, it would support an identification of the base unit in grain metrology, N1, with ca. 20-25 liters

Text content

Genre(s) Administrative
Language(s) Undetermined

Chronology

Period Uruk III (ca. 3200-3000 BC)
Accounting Period

Seals

This artifact is impressed by the following seal(s):

Seal Seal Number Provenience Period Date
dummy composite seal for unidentified seals (P533185) S999999 - -

Record

LOD URI https://cdli.network/entity/P005077

Physical information

Artifact type Tablet
Dimensions 59.0 mm × 34.0 mm × 16.0 mm
Weight
Material(s) Clay
Preservation

Provenance

Provenience uncertain (mod. Jemdet Nasr)
Written In
Archive
Excavation Number
Findspot
Stratigraphic Level
Elevation

Collections

Collection(s) Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures West Asia & North Africa Museum, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Museum Number OIM A02515
Accession Number

External resources

External Resource Identifiers
Oriental Institute Integrated Database (OI) f58ff443-8343-413d-82d3-45f2345ec71c

References

  • primary: MSVO 1, 10

    [Englund1991MSVO1] Englund, Robert K., Jean-Pierre Grégoire, and Roger J. Matthews. 1991. The Proto-Cuneiform Texts from Jemdet Nasr. I: Copies, Transliterations and Glossary. Materialien Zu Den Frühen Schriftzeugnissen Des Vorderen Orients (MSVO), Band 1. Berlin: Gebr. Mann.

    59x34x16 - sealed - well preserved tablet containing on the obverse a grain notation which stands in relation of 15N1 (q) grain to 1N14 (bùr, w), s. P. Damerow and R. Englund, ATU 2, p. 154 - H. Nissen, P. Damerow and R. Englund, Frühe Schrift, 99

  • history: Englund, OBO 160/1, p. 205 fig. 81

    [Englund1998OBO160/1] Englund, Robert K. 1998. “Texts from the Late Uruk Period.” In Annäherungen 1: Mesopotamien. Späturuk-Zeit Und Frühdynastische Zeit, edited by Pascal Attinger and Markus Wäfler, 13–233. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 160/1. Freiburg Schweiz: Universitätsverlag.

    copy

  • history: AfO 44/45 (pp. 1-58), 38

    [Friberg1997AfO44] Friberg, Jöran. 1997/98. “Round and Almost Round Numbers in Proto-Literate Metro-Mathematical Field Texts.” Archiv Für Orientforschung 44/45: 1–58.

    discussion of text

  • history: Frühe Schrift, p. 99, fig. 12e

    [Nissen1991FrüheSchrift] Nissen, Hans J., Peter Damerow, and Robert K. Englund. 1991. Frühe Schrift Und Techniken Der Wirtschaftsverwaltung Im Alten Vorderen Orient. Informationsspeicherung Und -Verarbeitung Vor 5000 Jahren. Franzbecker.

  • history: RA 26 (pp. 1-19), 15:2

    [Scheil1929RA26] Scheil, Vincent. 1929. “Documents et Arguments.” Revue d’Assyriologie et d’Archéologie Orientale 26: 1–19.

  • history: OIMP 32 (pp. 33-84), 079

    [Woods2010writing] Woods, Christopher. 2010. “The Earliest Mesopotamian Writing.” In Visible Language. Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond, edited by Christopher Woods, 33–84. Oriental Institute Museum Publications, Number 32. Chicago, Illinois: The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

Revisions and credits

Created Creator Type Authors Project Reviewer Status Action
2024-07-22 at 14:41:50 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-07-03 at 09:19:50 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-07-03 at 09:17:18 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-06-08 at 08:38:45 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-05-22 at 19:02:51 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2024-05-22 at 19:02:02 Firth, Richard Artifact metadata, Other metadata Firth, Richard Firth, Richard Approved View
2018-02-12 at 09:17:22 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2014-10-03 at 10:55:11 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2014-10-03 at 10:54:47 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2014-10-03 at 10:54:23 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2014-10-03 at 10:52:49 Englund, Robert K. Transliteration Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2007-02-02 at 15:13:18 Dahl, Jacob L. Transliteration Dahl, Jacob L. CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2006-10-12 at 12:12:59 CDLI, CDLI Transliteration CDLI, CDLI CDLI, CDLI Approved View
2001-12-04 at 00:00:00 CDLI, CDLI Artifact metadata Englund, Robert K. CDLI, CDLI Approved View

Cite this Artifact

“MSVO 1, 010 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 22, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P005077.
MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry (No. P005077). (2024, July 22). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P005077 (Original work published 2001)
MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P005077 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).
@misc{2024MSVO,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 22},
	title = {MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P005077},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P005077},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/22/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P005077
LB  - CDLI:P005077
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P005077
ER  -

Cite this Artifact

“MSVO 1, 010 Artifact Entry.” (2001) 2024. Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). July 22, 2024. https://cdli.earth/P005077.
MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry (No. P005077). (2024, July 22). Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). https://cdli.earth/P005077 (Original work published 2001)
MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry (2024) Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI). Available at: https://cdli.earth/P005077 (Accessed: October 18, 2026).
@misc{2024MSVO,
	note = {[Online; accessed 2026-10-18]},
	year = {2024},
	month = {jul 22},
	title = {MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry},
	url = {https://cdli.earth/P005077},
	howpublished = {https://cdli.earth/P005077},
}


TY  - ELEC
DA  - 2024/7/22/
PY  - 2024
ID  - P005077
LB  - CDLI:P005077
M1  - 2026/10/18/
TI  - MSVO 1, 010 artifact entry
UR  - https://cdli.earth/P005077
ER  -
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