18 Ashm 1931.137: Introduction and Analysis

In Chapter 17 we learned how System S underwent a transformation from curviform to cuneiform during the Akkadian Empire. It should be no surprise that System A also experienced such a shift. To see this in action we will consider the tablet Ashm 1931.137, pictured below in Figure 21.^[1] Produced in Kish during the Old Babylonian period (c. 1900-1600 BC), it now resides in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK.

The tablet is a metrological table, meaning that it lists off the different units of measurement. This specific tablet contains more-or-less complete lists for capacity of grain, weight of silver, and area of fields. Figure 21 only shows the part of Ashm 1931.137 related to area.^[2] This portion takes up half of the back side of the tablet. Because it is on the back side, these columns are read from right to left.

Other than System A numerals, the tablet has three words on it. These three words are translated below in Table 12.

Table 12. The words present on Ashm 1931.137 related to area.

Symbol	Sumerian	English
	a-šà	the field
	sar	garden
	ganá	field

As discussed before, ganá is a determinative that indicates that System A is being used. The word a-šà, though a synonym for ganá, is included simply to signify that area is being discussed. The final word sar, is a new unit of area that is smaller than any unit specified by ganá. We will discuss sar in more detail in Chapter 19.

Activity 20. Refer to Figure 21, Table 12., and Table 3 to answer the following.

Ashm 1931.137 contains the cuneiform symbols for the following System A numerals. These numerals will also be followed immediately by the symbol for ganá. Using your knowledge of System A determine which cuneiform symbol corresponds to the known curviform symbol and list in them in the table below.

Name	Curviform	Cuneiform
iku
èše
bùr
bùr’u
šár