| Sumerian Cuneiform, one of the earliest writing systems in the world, is comprised of wedge-shaped pictograms incised in clay tablets representing objects, ideas, and sounds. | ||
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Left: Babylonian legal contract in Akkadian, circa 1900-1600 BCE. Cuneiform incised on clay envelope with encloset tablet. Right: Old Babylonian language; Cuneiform tablet with two literary excerpts, one of which may be Sumerian in origin, circa 1900-1600 BCE. |
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Babylonian administrative document, front (left) and back (right), circa 1276-1275 BCE, with indication of date during reign of 24th king of Cassite Dynasty; Cuneiform script on each side records deliveries of barley to three different locations over a two year period. |
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Neo-Babylonian Cuneiform legal document recording dispute or arrangement between the man Amurru-idin and the wman Rasmâ; with list of witnesses, name of scribe, and date, 459-353 BCE. |
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