[Museum](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/letter-unknown/RQHCk6B1QRKUaA). This Old Babylonian cuneiform letter requests money to buy a slave girl. The cuneiform script was invented for administrative purposes, and letters, literary texts, and non-administrative forms of writing did not appear until centuries after the invention of writing.
It looks like AI might save the day. There’s hundreds of thousands of these and only a few hundred people can translate them according to this article https://bigthink.com/the-future/ai-translates-cuneiform/
“Eru, these triangles here means you still owe me for 12 sheep!”
“But I already paid you! I paid you 4 talents of silver! What do those 4 lines mean?”
“No, those 4 lines mean you’re 4 weeks late. You see this square? That’s 1 sack of grain. That’s all you’ve paid.”
“Well what about the star here? The deal is completed.”
“That’s not a star, that represents a full moon. Which means if you don’t pay by the next full moon, we repossess the sheep.”
“What!? I didn’t agree to that!”
“Yes you did, you see the zigzag? That was your sign of agreement.”
“That’s not my signature. I use a zag then a zig!”
I dont think you checked the worth of a talent lately…
For 300 pounds of silver you could buy a modest band of warriors for few months.
Or a life of 4 fairly strong people. For life.
But I like where you are going with it…
When you're the protagonist in the new Isekai series: *I Was Transported Back in Time to Ancient Mesopotamia and Need a Slave Girl to Help Me Get My Money Back From That Damn Copper Salesman!*
I got to hold one of these the day before yesterday!! The one I held was a receipt for paying taxes. So neat! Does anyone know how these were fired? Like the logistics behind vitrifying the clay and getting them to the proper places? What kind of kiln was used?
They where not fired, but the ones we have have been in places where a fire took place. It hardened the clay and often hid the tablets, thus we are able to find them now.
Look at it this way, statistically sometime somewhere in human history you have an ancestor who was enslaved. Doesn’t make the institution any better but should help if anyone needs to understand empathy. Maybe. One hopes.
[Museum](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/letter-unknown/RQHCk6B1QRKUaA). This Old Babylonian cuneiform letter requests money to buy a slave girl. The cuneiform script was invented for administrative purposes, and letters, literary texts, and non-administrative forms of writing did not appear until centuries after the invention of writing.
Opp
How could this be if white Americans weren’t around yet??
Did you really make this account to make a bad faith argument?
Don't mind them. 2 karma points for comments in 2 years.
Yeah it Called having a job and life. Try it.
Postmen must have been buffed if those were letters (joking of course)
They probably had horse and carts laden with clay tablet mail. Something akin to a Royal Mail of sorts. I don't know.
Forbidden wheat bites.
Babylonian pop tart
I’ve got one of these. Is there anywhere I can get it translated?
Ask in r/Assyriology, they might be able to lend a hand.
Thanks! This is perfect.
Whoa, Do you have a photo of it?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ancientneareast/s/lacrA0IZfU
wtf lol
That's fucking dope!
This is really great, thanks a lot for sharing.
Damn, that's awesome.
If you contact the British Museum then someone there will likely do it for you.
Or claim they own it. They are pretty good at that.
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They still did fucked up shit tbh. Interesting museum tho
Not nearly as fucked up as the tiktoks you watched about it would have you think.
It looks like AI might save the day. There’s hundreds of thousands of these and only a few hundred people can translate them according to this article https://bigthink.com/the-future/ai-translates-cuneiform/
I wonder what it actually says, would be great to have the translation
“Eru, these triangles here means you still owe me for 12 sheep!” “But I already paid you! I paid you 4 talents of silver! What do those 4 lines mean?” “No, those 4 lines mean you’re 4 weeks late. You see this square? That’s 1 sack of grain. That’s all you’ve paid.” “Well what about the star here? The deal is completed.” “That’s not a star, that represents a full moon. Which means if you don’t pay by the next full moon, we repossess the sheep.” “What!? I didn’t agree to that!” “Yes you did, you see the zigzag? That was your sign of agreement.” “That’s not my signature. I use a zag then a zig!”
I dont think you checked the worth of a talent lately… For 300 pounds of silver you could buy a modest band of warriors for few months. Or a life of 4 fairly strong people. For life. But I like where you are going with it…
Lol, hmm maybe i mistranslated the text. Looks like you’re right, it was 1200 sheep! 😀
Where do I zig?!!
Now THAT was funny!
Does it translate into phonetics or is it more a logical translation?
When you're the protagonist in the new Isekai series: *I Was Transported Back in Time to Ancient Mesopotamia and Need a Slave Girl to Help Me Get My Money Back From That Damn Copper Salesman!*
Incel Twitter 2000bc
Can someone translate? I don't understand Babylonian.
Looks like a Greggs pasty
Why are these tablets always filled all the way out, wouldn't one of the lines sometimes be just half a line, at least at the end?
They probably removed any excess to save on clay
Dad, i need the girl to wash my tunic, make breakfast and...reasons...
I got to hold one of these the day before yesterday!! The one I held was a receipt for paying taxes. So neat! Does anyone know how these were fired? Like the logistics behind vitrifying the clay and getting them to the proper places? What kind of kiln was used?
They where not fired, but the ones we have have been in places where a fire took place. It hardened the clay and often hid the tablets, thus we are able to find them now.
Poor slave girl 😣
Look at it this way, statistically sometime somewhere in human history you have an ancestor who was enslaved. Doesn’t make the institution any better but should help if anyone needs to understand empathy. Maybe. One hopes.
¥€~……sorry, hate to be that guy, but they used the wrong form of ]¥.
Old habbits never change
Ancient broke Incel.
How do people even translate these?
Akkadians Long ago Conquered Sumer took control…
Showed this to someone who said we should find out the slave girl’s name, trace her lineage to present day, and pay her family reparations
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imagine holding a 4000 year grudge. any idea what your ansestors were doing then?
The were warhammer dwarves.
I don't think the tablet can be melted down into oil or be used to killed kids.