Cuneiform Research Articles

Semantic classifiers (determinatives) and categorization in the ancient Egyptian writing system: Rules, list of classifiers, and studies by iClassifier on the Story of Sinuhe

In the last two decades, we have extensively explored the semantic classifiers in ancient Egyptian scripts, showing how they encode the world from two complementary perspectives: universal cognitive tendencies of classification along with Egyptian society's categorization of the world. Our central hypothesis is that each graphemic classifier in the Egyptian writing system heads a conceptual category. The assemblage of words classified by a particular classifier presents us with a dynamic map of an emic category in the mind of a culture. Classifiers in the Egyptian script allow us to trace central and marginal members of conceptual categories, spot interrelations and overlaps between categories, observe diachronic developments and changes, and discover incompatibility of categories. The number of classifier occurrences in complex script systems amounts to millions (i.e., big data). In the last decade, we developed in the ArchaeoMind Lab the digital tool iClassifier 1 (© Goldwasser, Harel, and Nikolaev) designed to check our hypothesis on a large scope of texts from different periods and different scripts. We mark classifiers in imported digitalized corpora—in ancient Chinese, ancient Egyptian, and Sumerian cuneiform. This contribution introduces the reader to the rules of the classifier system in the Egyptian script and presents new results from a pilot project on a genuine Egyptian corpus (variants of the Story of Sinuhe).

Preparing multi-layered visualisations of Old Babylonian cuneiform tablets for a machine learning OCR training model towards automated sign recognition

Abstract In the framework of the CUNE-IIIF-ORM project the aim is to train an Artificial Intelligence Optical Character Recognition (AI-OCR) model that can automatically locate and identify cuneiform signs on photorealistic representations of Old Babylonian texts (c. 2000–1600 B.C.E.). In order to train the model, c. 200 documentary clay tablets have been selected. They are manually annotated by specialist cuneiformists on a set of 12 still raster images generated from interactive Multi-Light Reflectance images. This image set includes visualisations with varying light angles and simplifications based on the dept information on the impressed signs in the surface. In the Cuneur Cuneiform Annotator, a Gitlab-based web application, the identified cuneiform signs are annotated with polygons and enriched with metadata. This methodology builds a qualitative annotated training corpus of approximately 20,000 cropped signs (i.e. 240,000 visualizations), all with their unicode codepoint and conventional sign name. It will act as a multi-layerd core dataset for the further development and fine-tuning of a machine learning OCR training model for the Old Babylonian cuneiform script. This paper discusses how the physical nature of handwritten inscribed Old Babylonian documentary clay tablets challenges the annotation and metadating task, and how these have been addressed within the CUNE-IIIF-ORM project to achieve an effective training corpus to support the training of a machine learning OCR model. ACM CCS Applied computing → Document management and text processing → Document capture → Optical character recognition; Applied computing → Arts and humanities → Language translation.

Extensive Review of State-of-the-Art Classification Techniques for Cuneiform Symbol Imaging: Open Issues and Challenges

The cuneiform script reveals some previously unknown aspects of our past. However, reading ancient clay tablets demands a substantial investment of time and persistent practice over a long period of time. As the fourth millennium came to a close, earlier recording methods gave way to the development of writing – the visual representation of spoken language. The first language to be transcribed in written form in Mesopotamia was Sumerian. Predominantly, the earliest tablets originate from the Uruk site in southern Mesopotamia, possibly marking its birthplace. Digitization cuneiform documents is imperative to boost research focused on the ancient Middle East. A few initiatives embarked upon this endeavor around the year 2000. Nonetheless, the digitization process is time-consuming due to the extensive volume of documents, and a dependable (semi) automatic methodology has yet to be developed. Given the antiquity of cuneiform script, recognizing cuneiform signs using real-world applications via two graph-based algorithms, each with complementary runtime characteristics, remains a manual procedure. Translating cuneiform proves to be a daunting task. Only in relatively recent times has grammar been established scientifically, while lexical challenges remain abundant and far from resolved. Furthermore, the majority of the Sumerian tablets have succumbed to the ravages of time, leaving behind only a handful of ancient depictions. Some of these old images have been preserved in a unique collection or in museums worldwide, allowing specialists to easily apply the sign detector to their cuneiform text studies. In this paper, we will discuss the categorization and analysis of clay tablets using a trained cuneiform model, employing artificial intelligence methodologies. Additionally, we will explore the methods employed, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, we will propose potential directions for future research.

Construction of Identities and Late Mesopotamian Archives as Found in the Fragments of the ‘Graeco-Babyloniaca’

This article focuses on the social reality behind the so-called Graeco-Babyloniaca, a small sample of less than two dozen fragments of clay tablets, mainly inscribed with cuneiform signs on the obverse, with alphabetic Greek signs on the reverse. As possibly one of the last signs of life of the time-honored cuneiform script, in a Janus-faced manner they hint at the long tradition of Babylonian scholarship and learning on the one hand, and at its disappearance via script-obsolescence on the other. Notwithstanding the fact that there are only a few tablets, the aim of this article is to trace the social group behind the textual remains of the Graeco-Babylonian tablets and tablet fragments.

Historical profile of Nardostachys jatamansi: an ancient incense & aromatic medicinal herb from Kumaon, Uttarakhand

Nardostachys jatamansi or jaṭāmānsī from India was known to the Mesopotamian, one of the earliest civilizations of the world. Its name was found in their cuneiform script. It was exported to Assyria, in the Arabian countries and to Egypt, where it was known as Sumbul-e-Hind and, in Greece under the name Nardus. The plant is also mentioned in the Bible as Spikenard. In Germany, it was known as Nardus indica. It was a reputed as costly incense-herb, perfume, and used as a nerve tonic in hysteria, epileptic fits, palpitations of heart, etc. in the middle-east countries since time immemorial. Its botanical identity, history and use are mentioned in the ancient Ayurvedic & Unani literature. In India, this herb’s distribution is naturally restricted to the state of Uttarakhand, where its use as incense and medicine originated. This plant is not only mentioned in the folk tales of the state but also forms part of their cultural affinity. Despite being part of their culture, this herb is endangered in Uttarakhand. Therefore serious efforts should be made by the state government for its conservation and cultivation.

ANTİK ÇAĞLARDA MEZOPOTAMYA VE ANADOLU KÜLTÜRÜNÜN ÇALGILARI

In this study, the evolution of instruments in Ancient Mesopotamian and Anatolian cultures was examined starting from the Sumerians up to the Hittite civilization. The instruments as high-ranking cultural assets are not only simple instruments in which sound, loudness, timbre, sound intensity are generated. They are the indispensable elements of rituals, conversation, communication, and more importantly art in Mesopotamia and Anatolia. The importance of instruments as high-ranking cultural assets in the Sumerian period (BC) is proven by the numerous classifications made. Cuneiform script originating from Mesopotamia has been an important type of script spreading out from Asia Minor, used in the writing of various languages from different groups and the most important source in revealing the information about the music and instrument culture of the period was undoubtedly the texts written in cuneiform, as well as the instrument finds and pictorial descriptions. Cuneiform texts give us instrument names rather than instrument types. The lexical (glossary) lists, which are available in two languages, Sumerian-Akkadian, which sometimes include descriptions of instruments, give us the Sumerian and Akkadian names of the instruments. In some cases, besides the instrument names, there are certain clues with occasional addendums regarding the material from which the instrument is made. The most important of the Mesopotamian civilizations, which started to form in the early period in the 12.000 B.C., are respectively; Sumerian, Akkad, Babylonian, Assyrian and Hittite civilizations. The cultural experiences of each of these civilizations naturally transferred influences from their cultures to the next society.

Proverbs of Animals in the Sumerian Cuneiform Sources

Proverbs of animals are the largest collection of Sumerian proverbs recorded so far, as we do not find an analogue of them in the Akkadian language. The Sumerian scribe likened the qualities possessed by animals to human qualities such as sincerity, loyalty, honesty, mercy and courage, as well as disgraceful qualities such as treachery, betrayal, arrogance, boldness and gluttony, cruelty and applied them on animals believed to have such qualities to avoid confronting them and to prevent their evil. Proverbs mentioned a number of animals and focused on recording wild animals such as lion, fox, deer, bear, moose and others. As for domesticated animals such as dogs and cattle of all kinds and the rest of the animals which he domesticated and relied on in his daily life at that time. As for birds, a number of them were mentioned, such as crows and owls, and insects including locusts and flies were mentioned in some proverbs.

Modern Management System in Libraries

Libraries today are coping with change and searching for tools to assist them to deal with it, as well as creatingstrategic partnerships with other libraries. Cooperation appears to be the key to library survival. Cooperationefforts vary depending on geographic areas and cultural traditions, but they appear to be present around theworld: on the one hand, nations with strong libraries that are used to strengthen cooperation and sharing haveseen a flourishing of new cooperative initiatives and formal consortia; on the other hand, nations, where thiscollaborative practise was not within their culture, have received a boast towards it. The first libraries wererepositories for the earliest sort of writing, clay tablets in cuneiform script discovered in Sumer, some datingback to 2600 BC. These written records mark the end of prehistory and the start of history. In the 1980s, theintroduction of online searching, i.e. digital databases, began to replace the library's print indexes andabstracting reference tools. While expensive and difficult to use, such resources were frequently mediated byhighly skilled librarians to provide broader access to print library materials (at least for the untrained).Although this finding was touted as revolutionary once more, it simply represented a more efficient and effectivemethod of offering basic library services.

The Concept of Motion in Ancient Greek Thought: Foundations in Logic, Method, and Mathematics

<i>The Concept of Motion in Ancient Greek Thought: Foundations in Logic, Method, and Mathematics</i>

Illumination-based Augmentation for Cuneiform Deep Neural Sign Classification

Automated content-based search for arbitrary cuneiform signs in photographic reproductions is a challenging task in the analysis of ancient documents, a central component of which is a reliable cuneiform sign classification. We present an illumination-based approach to generate synthetic training data for cuneiform sign classification via deep neural networks to overcome common issues with the transferability of machine learning training results. Starting from an analysis of the negative impact of illumination variations in the processed cuneiform data, we employ an illumination augmentation to two-dimensional (2D) training data generated from annotated 3D datasets. We demonstrate that our method is able to overcome the high visual variance of most digitized 2D cuneiform reproductions and achieve an illumination invariant generalization. The effectiveness of our approach is evaluated by its successful application to several subsets of a cuneiform script dataset with an originally poor transferability of mutual training results. Furthermore, we show that a sufficient sampling of the illumination space mostly removes the necessity to match the training data to specific target illumination conditions. The practical applicability of our approach is validated by applying it to a larger dataset, raising the overall classification accuracy by 4 percentage points to 90%, resulting in a classification error reduction of 28.5% when compared to results without the proposed data augmentation.

Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs: A Guide to Nahuatl Writing

Deciphering Aztec Hieroglyphs: A Guide to Nahuatl Writing

The Contents of School Texts from Ancient Iraq in Light of Published and Unpublished Cuneiform Texts

School texts are texts that go back to the early Sumerian and Babylonian eras، and they come in second place in terms of the clay tablets discovered، and they include a group of texts that were prepared to teach beginners reading and writing and to introduce them to the Sumerian and Akkadian languages، and it includes lists of the cuneiform signs in the Akkadian and Sumerian languages. School texts do not include cuneiform disc-shaped texts only، but there are many forms of school texts، as they can be rectangular، square or circular، and some of them are organized and divided into several columns and others are randomly written، and they have different sizes as well، and the shape of the text may indicate its content There are school texts that are difficult for researchers to differentiate between them and other texts، as they are made with great care and attention، and are written in elegant and well-executed cuneiform script. As for the contents of the texts، they are multiple، they may contain repeated signs or words for the purpose of learning to write the cuneiform script only، and they may contain lexical texts that facilitate the student's translation of texts from Sumerian to Akkadian and vice versa، and these lists may represent more than just copying or memorization، as each stage One of the stages of lexical education serves an educational purpose. School texts may include literary letters and texts such as proverbs and hymns، artistic texts for singers، and legal texts such as learning to write commercial contracts، and they may contain legal texts such as mathematical and engineering exercises and others.

Digital Assyriology—Advances in Visual Cuneiform Analysis

Cuneiform tablets appertain to the oldest textual artifacts used for more than three millennia and are comparable in amount and relevance to texts written in Latin or ancient Greek. These tablets are typically found in the Middle East and were written by imprinting wedge-shaped impressions into wet clay. There is an increasing demand in the Digital Humanities domain for handwriting recognition, i.e., machine reading of handwritten script, focusing on historic documents. Current practice in text analysis of cuneiform script relies heavily on transliteration and translation, which are incomplete and influenced by the knowledge and experience of the expert that created them. The development of computational tools for cuneiform analysis presents many opportunities. An efficient and accurate sign spotting enables cross-referencing and statistical analyzes that are infeasible to perform manually. Furthermore, a wedge constellation spotting tool, provides experts with a significantly broader base of references to create more accurate and less time consuming transliterations and translations. Yet, cuneiform script has since resisted efforts to computational processing on basis of its basic constituents, its 3D wedge-shaped impressions and their free-form arrangements into signs. In this work, we review the literature on computational processing and recognition in the domain of cuneiform script. We introduce the different heterogeneous sources of cuneiform script, namely, manual ink-on-paper drawings, digital vector graphics drawings, photographs, and 3D scans of tablets. We describe the development of methods, beginning with the first computational classification using a hybrid manual encoding and computational comparison, to the latest methods making use of Generative Adversarial Neural Networks to recognize characters automatically. Finally, we give an overview of applications of these methods that enable quantitative mining in the small, e.g., patterns of wedge constellations, and in the large, e.g., networks of economic activity.

Writing and Social Diversity in Late Bronze Age Ugarit

Writing at Ugarit has received a great deal of scholarly attention for the wide range of languages and writing systems used, and especially for the city’s distinctive alphabetic cuneiform script which accounts for around half of the inscribed material from the site. The vast majority of the rest is in the Akkadian language and logo-syllabic cuneiform script. This written material is, justifiably, usually seen as scribal, in that the vast majority stems from the state bureaucracy and from professional writers formally trained in a curriculum derived from the Mesopotamian cuneiform tradition. However, by using the blanket term ‘scribe’ we risk obscuring potential diversity in who used writing and why. This paper will explore the extent to which we can identify social diversity within writing practices at Ugarit and will focus in particular on three main areas: gender and women’s literacy; social mobility and writing outside the traditional literate establishment; and the relationship between writing and possible minority communities within Ugaritian society.

A Comparative Approach to the Oannes Narrative in Mesopotamia and the Prometheus Myth in the Ancient Greek World

The belief systems in Mesopotamia and Ancient Greece were based on the idea that knowledge was transferred from gods to humans. The common belief regarding the source of knowledge in both societies was somehow diferent. While Mesopotamian societies believed that knowledge was transferred from gods to humans through a being called Oannes, Ancient Greek society believed that Prometheus stole fre, which was the frst knowledge, from Zeus. As written in cuneiform scripts, coming ashore as a half-fsh and half-man creature, Oannes was thought to teach Mesopotamians various skills, ranging from building houses to agriculture. On the other hand, it is mentioned in the works of Hesiod and Aeschylus in Ancient Greece that Prometheus created humans and taught them all necessary knowledge to continue their lives. The present study compares diferent beliefs regarding the source of knowledge in two diferent societies which existed in two diferent geographical regions and time periods. Additionally, it aims to reveal the ways in which both societies shaped their world views through divine knowledge. For a closer analysis of both belief systems, Mesopotamian cuneiform scripts and Ancient Greek manuscripts were used as primary sources. After each source was examined in detail, modern interpretations of these sources were also analyzed. Finally, common points in both primary sources were identifed in order to characterize the present study based on these common points.

A Review on The Snake in Hitite Cuneiform Writing Texts

Hititlerin doğal çevreye ve onun içinde yaşayan canlılara yaklaşımı siyasi, hukuki, dini ve mitolojik metinlerden bilinmektedir. Bu belgelerde MUŠ Sumeogramıyla ifade edilen yılana, bir canlı olmasının ötesinde çok farklı anlamlar yüklenilmiştir. Hititler yılanı iyi-kötü, karanlık-aydınlık, ölümsüzlük ve şifa olarak algılamıştır. Ayrıca o dönemde yılan ihanetin, sinsiliğin, huzursuzluğun ve tekinsizliğin sembolik ifadesi olmuştur. Bu çalışmada Hititçe çivi yazılı metinlerde geçen yılan kelimesinin anlamı, kara ve ak büyülerde yılanın kullanılması, fallarda yılanın tercih edilme sebebi, rüyalarda yılan yorumu ve yılanla ilgilenen görevliler incelenecektir. Ayrıca Hititlerin yılana bakışı ve insanların üzerindeki güçlü etkisi ortaya konulacaktır.

Pedunculopontine and Cuneiform Nuclei Deep Brain Stimulation for Severe Gait and Balance Disorders in Parkinson's Disease: Interim Results from a Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial.

Dopa-resistant freezing of gait (FOG) and falls represent the dominant motor disabilities in advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). We investigate the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the mesencephalic locomotor region (MLR), comprised of the pedunculopontine (PPN) and cuneiform (CuN) nuclei, for treating gait and balance disorders, in a randomized double-blind cross-over trial. Six PD patients with dopa-resistant FOG and/or falls were operated for MLR-DBS. Patients received three DBS conditions, PPN, CuN, or Sham, in a randomized order for 2-months each, followed by an open-label phase. The primary outcome was the change in anteroposterior anticipatory-postural-adjustments (APAs) during gait initiation on a force platformResults:The anteroposterior APAs were not significantly different between the DBS conditions (median displacement [1st-3rd quartile] of 3.07 [3.12-4.62] cm with sham-DBS, 1.95 [2.29-3.85] cm with PPN-DBS and 2.78 [1.66-4.04] cm with CuN-DBS; p = 0.25). Step length and velocity were significantly higher with CuN-DBS vs. both sham-DBS and PPN-DBS. Conversely, step length and velocity were lower with PPN-DBS vs. sham-DBS, with greater double stance and gait initiation durations. One year after surgery, step length was significantly lower with PPN-DBS vs. inclusion. We did not find any significant change in clinical scales between DBS conditions or one year after surgery. Two months of PPN-DBS or CuN-DBS does not effectively improve clinically dopa-resistant gait and balance disorders in PD patients.

Stimulation of the pedunculopontine and cuneiform nuclei for freezing of gait and falls in Parkinson disease: Cross-over single-blinded study and long-term follow-up

IntroductionDeep brain stimulation (DBS) of the mesencephalic locomotor region, composed of the pedunculopontine (PPN) and cuneiform (CuN) nuclei, has been proposed to treat dopa-resistant gait and balance disorders in Parkinson's disease (PD). Here, we report the long-term effects of PPN- or CuN-DBS on these axial disorders. MethodsIn 6 PD patients operated for mesencephalic locomotor region DBS and prospectively followed for more than 2 years, we assessed the effects of both PPN- and CuN-DBS (On-dopa) in a cross-over single-blind study by using clinical scales and recording gait parameters. Patients were also examined Off-DBS. ResultsMore than 2 years after surgery, axial and Tinetti scores were significantly aggravated with both PPN- or CuN-DBS relative to before and one year after surgery. Gait recordings revealed an increased double-stance duration with both PPN- or CuN-DBS, higher swing phase duration with CuN-DBS and step width with PPN-DBS. With PPN- versus CuN-DBS, the step length, velocity and cadence were significantly higher; and the double-stance and turn durations significantly lower. Irrespective the target, we found no significant change in clinical scores Off-DBS compared to On-DBS. The duration of anticipatory postural adjustments as well as step length were lower with versus without PPN-DBS. We found no other significant changes in motor, cognitive or psychiatric scores, except an increased anxiety severity. ConclusionIn this long-term follow-up study with controlled assessments, PPN- or CuN-DBS did not improve dopa-resistant gait and balance disorders with a worsening of these axial motor signs with time, thus indicating no significant clinical effect.

SAĞLIK SOSYOLOJİSİ AÇISINDAN HİTİTLERDE SAĞLIK İLİŞKİLERİ

Hittites, like all civilizations, contributed to the historical accumulation achieved by mankind in reaching the current level of modern medicine, and also served as a bridge between cultures by carrying the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia to Anatolia. Health relationships are formed by being influenced by the geography in which societies are located, economic relations and cultural accumulations. When considered from this point of view, in addition to the fact that the economy of Hittites relied on agriculture and husbandry, the spoils of war were also very significant in their economy. It also becomes important what the impact of the world of religion and faith on health relations is and what structures this effect produces. Many cuneiform script which informs us on Hittite history and culture was found in Hattusa, the capital of Hittites. Among these cuneiforms, together with texts related to religious, magical and scientific treatments, there are also important texts containing information about scientific medicine. It is possible to say that in Hittites, the treatment methods and health relations applied for various diseases were mainly based on two main paths, as: The treatment with drugs and the treatment with religious and magical rituals. In terms of social role and status, the physician was in the same class as oracles, innkeepers and bakers. In fact, this classification is not bizarre at all, and that shows us that the physicians are not just government officers working at the palace but also persons who live on the income s/he receives due to his/her medical services outside the palace.

The sexagesimal place-value system inside and outside texts

This article proposes a contribution to the reflection on the invention of the sexagesimal place-value notation, a way of representing numbers which was at the basis of the so-called “Babylonian” mathematics (mathematical texts written in cuneiform script in the Ancient Near East from the 3rd to the 1st millennium BCE). The history of the sexagesimal place-value notation has already been the subject of numerous studies. It is proposed here to shed some new light on this question not only by examining texts, but also by taking into account the environment of the texts: what happens outside the text itself? What are the activities that accompany the act of writing?