What Type Of Writing Did The Sumerians Use

Sumerian inscription on a ceramic stone plaque.

Sumerian literature constitutes the earliest known corpus of recorded literature, including the religious writings and other traditional stories maintained by the Sumerian civilization and largely preserved by the later Akkadian and Babylonian empires. These records were written in the Sumerian language during the Middle Bronze Age.

The Sumerians invented one of the first writing systems, developing Sumerian cuneiform writing out of earlier proto-writing systems by about the 30th century BC. The Sumerian language remained in official and literary use in the Akkadian and Babylonian empires, even after the spoken language disappeared from the population; literacy was widespread, and the Sumerian texts that students copied heavily influenced later Babylonian literature.

Poetry [edit]

Most Sumerian literature is written in left-justified lines,^[1] and could contain line-based organization such as the couplet or the stanza,^[2] but the Sumerian definition of poetry is unknown. It is not rhymed,^[3] ^[4] although "comparable effects were sometimes exploited."^[5] It did not use syllabo-tonic versification,^[6] and the writing system precludes detection of rhythm, metre, rhyme,^[7] ^[8] or alliteration.^[9] Quantitative analysis of other possible poetic features seems to be lacking, or has been intentionally hidden by the scribes who recorded the writing.

Literary works [edit]

Important works include:

The poetry and hymns of Enheduanna
A Creation and Flood Myth (translation)
Three epic cycles:
- Two Enmerkar legends:
  - Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta (translation)
  - Enmerkar and En-suhgir-ana (translation)
- Two tales of Lugalbanda during Enmerkar's campaign against Aratta:
  - Lugalbanda in the Mountain Cave (translation)
  - Lugalbanda and the Anzud Bird (translation)
- Five stories in the Gilgamesh epic cycle:
  - Gilgamesh and Huwawa (version A, version B)
  - Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven (translation)
  - Gilgamesh and Aga (translation)
  - Gilgamesh, Enkidu and the Netherworld (translation)
  - The Death of Gilgamesh (translation)
The Kesh Temple Hymn (translation)
The Lament for Ur (translation)
A series of long poems about the exploits of the goddess Inanna
- Inanna and the Mes (translation)
- Inanna and Ebih (translation)
- Inanna and Shukaletuda (translation)
- Inanna and Gudam (translation)
- Inanna and An (translation)
- The Descent of Inanna into the Underworld (translation)
- The Dream of Dumuzid (translation)

References [edit]

^ Black et al., Introduction
^ Michalowski p. 144
^ Jacobsen p. xiv
^ Black et al., Introduction
^ Black p. 8
^ Michalowski p. 146
^ Jacobsen p. xiv
^ Black et al., Introduction
^ Black et al., Introduction

External links [edit]

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature
Catalogue of literary works at the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature