aandeloucas.com
I am a Ph.D. candidate in Assyriology at Harvard University. I write on Bronze Age cities of Mesopotamia, their institutions, organizations, and political economy.
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One of the ongoing questions in Old Babylonian studies is a revolt against Samsu-iluna at this time: why did major cities like Nippur and Ur push back against Babylonian hegemony, and how did that revolt end?
Was this house set up only for lodging, was it a way to help the owner make ends meet?
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That adjoining building was constructed and abandoned between 1756 and 1736 BCE, coinciding with the end of King Hammurabi's reign and the first decade of rule by his son, Samsu-iluna. This was a politically hot period in history, so (the lack of) destruction is an important aspect of study.
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The text was found in a courtyard, whose floor was covered with other artifacts that had been abandoned. It likely belonged to the adjoining house, also left to the elements. Interestingly,
"There was no violent destruction of the building. It seems merely to have gone out of use for a time."
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Congratulations and well deserved!
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Is this up your alley, @kevinmpotter.bsky.social?
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This can be as much a political issue as it is an economic one, with the outcomes still the same: dumber citizens, lazier workers, ignorant experts, and less social mobility for disenfranchised populations.
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The shift of creative, analytical skills that take time to develop and utilize into low-cost, fast products is precisely what encourages less investment in expertise services.
That means spending less for all sorts of 'slow' fields, namely healthcare, education, all things arts and culture.
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He's got a shredder of a solo cello sonata!
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I only clarified that the previous post, about gala-priests and pegging, was not related to trans priestess stuff.
You can certainly contend with Peled (2016), the monograph can be read here (it's open access): library.oapen.org/handle/20.50...
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My pleasure! Thank you for the kind words
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So, I don't have much to hang this idea from, but I hesitate to say clay was necessarily profitable. There's reason to suspect that, culturally and environmentally, it was one of the most cost effective choices out there for businesses and states alike.
It was human time and effort that mattered.
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At the same time, clay was integral and this is something that cannot be recorded on an economic level. According to royal inscriptions, brickmolds were made w/ fragrant items like cedar, syrup and perfume - they would divine the fate of temples and palaces. Humans were made of clay (and holy spit).
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This is based on extant archival records, which lean toward large purchases of baked brick and pottery, or labor large enough to require something be written down.
There are several industries that are largely invisible due to this bias, with clay and reed being the most apparent examples.
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When we see clay enter economic documentation, it's usually as finished products or labor agreements for product manufacturing. In this way, we don't see the material exchange hands, only its work.
This tracks for premodern societies, where human labor is fundamentally the most lucrative commodity.
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Clay was used for most everything: utensils, tools, appliances like ovens, pottery, construction and infrastructure, writing, toys, so on and so forth.
So, it may be surprising that it doesn't seem industrialized on the same level as, e.g., wood in other parts of the world. It's a bit unclear.
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No, there were many types of priests. Gala priests have been suggested to have had male same-sex connotations, as the above states. These connotations are rare and scholarship is still hesitant to make any claim about sexuality or gender in this case, see e.g. Peled (2016): 135f.
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You may find this article interesting and it might clarify some of those ideas you're considering:
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We have a contemporaneous account of the Enkidu and Shamhat sex-fest in CBS 7771, also from Old Babylonian Nippur; I'm not sure if we can fairly claim it as more or less X-rated. The shift in perspective is certainly interesting, but I wouldn't say it indicates a social shift.
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The plaque is from Ur, the tablet from Nippur, and they both are dated to the Old Babylonian period (~2000-1700 BCE).
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The plaque is BM 116731, housed at British Museum; the tablet is Ni. 9602, housed at İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri. An edition of the text, often cited as "Inana and Dumuzi P," can be found in Yitschak Sefati (1998), Love Songs in Sumerian Literature: 219-235.
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I think our speaker is describing her field as not yet domesticated: it's wild, fertile, and ripe for cultivation. It needs someone to ensure that the land doesn't end up fallow (this is the line right above the duck one). I'm sure there are other ways to read these lines, too.
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The Sumerian word is mu-nu(d). It's not too common and could also mean bed. The main recognizing factor here is the sign nud, or NA2. It's a verb that means "to lie down" or "to rest".
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I'm a big fan of 'The Honey Man', which if I haven't looked at in a while, but if I remember has the banging chorus:
'He's the honey man, he's the honey man,
Doing sweet things to me.
Right up to my navel'
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Lastly, a marriage song featuring foreplay as translated by Yitschak Sefati (1998). This one is much sweeter, but still inappropriate to bring up to your friends and family.
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Another one for the King Shu-Suen (you can use your imagination for this one):
"My God, that alewife: her beer is good!
Like her beer, her pussy is good (her beer is good!)
Like the mouth of a canal, her pussy is good (her beer is good!)
Her sprinkling water (her beer is good!)"
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I'm real sorry to see this and hope something better comes your way soon 😔
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Not a fact
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I understand your sentiment, but these aren't the tablets for which this argument ought to be made. You can read about the history of Ur and concerns of ownership here:
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Recording and tracing chronology is one of the most difficult aspects of ancient history, as it requires a wild amount of data, including sciences like astronomy and radiocarbon dating.
Moreover, all of the above assumes we have known data from then to now and we don't: there were dark ages.