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Cuneiform Signs

Analysis and reports to support an international standard for computer encoding of the Cuneiform writing system

Research on the development of Cuneiform signs

 

Remaining Unknowns from "Die Keilschriftzeichen der Wirtschaftsurkunden von Ur III" by Nikolaus Schneider (KWU)

 

As a supplement to the list of Fara signs which I have not yet been able to plausibly identify with those in other lists, or not able to identify the components of complex signs, here is the correponding list for the KWU Ur III list. First some corrections to the cross-references within that list.

Thanks for any help identifying any of the items I have not been able to, either identifying with signs in other lists / from other eras, or identifying the components when that is possible. References to specialist literature are very welcome; also findings of specialists even if not published (with indication of use or not, and how credit should be cited)..

 

Cross-Reference Corrections within the KWU list (this is only partial, the ones I wrote into my copy)

142 reference to 740 is wrong
305 reference should be to 881
372 reference to 454 should be to 455
373 reference to 455 should be to 456
The classification of GIR3, PIRIG, and related signs is not entirely certain. Cross-references need to be structured in a consistent way.
525 reference to 454 should be to 455
526 reference to 455 should be to 456
527 reference to 456 should be to 457
562 should be contrasted with 567
576 reference to 458 should be to 459
578 reference to 494 should be to 495
586 reference to 494 should be to 495
604 reference to 494 should be to 495
611 reference to 634 should be to 639
754 reference to 611 should be to 691
808 should be contrasted with 813
878 should probably not be referred to 876 ?
924 reference to 921 should be to 922

 

KWU numbers which are presumably not single signs but sequences

645 "often written separately", so by that criterion most unlikely to be a single sign
789 may be a ligature?
798 may be a sequence -- notice the wide spacing in the first rendering
800 since Schneider indicates the variations are those found for each of the components separately, it may be a mere sequence of two signs

 

KWU numbers which conflate presumably distinct signs (at least components are probably distinct)
There are several further items of this kind, not yet gathered here even if I have separated them.

838
855
872
873

 

KWU numbers which I currently regard as unknowns. Some so rarely attested or so fragmentary that their identification is on average more difficult

69
139 and 682 and 823 early looks similar to AB, later decomposed ?? as TAB+BA ??
142
171?
184 (compare 185 less the sheshshig)
874 ~ 236
896 ~ 267, 273
287 see numbers
288 see numbers
306
381
413
441 PIRIG x (NAM2 or TUG2 ?)
442 PIRIG x PA ?
487
518
543
544 probably wrong identification with later forms
585 ??? x U2, x KAR2, or x SHE3 ???
616 and 617 ??? HUBUR x (HA gunu) ???
644 SA with SHE above ???
672
688
713
725
755 GU2 x GAR ???
759
789 ligature?
832
833
838d EZEN x MU ??? or what is the infix?
862
863
864
871
874
878
896 ~ 267 ~ 273

Copyright © 2003. All Rights Reserved. Much of the analytical material on this web site will be included in an etymological study and concordance to cuneiform signs, to be published shortly, and may be used to validate the sign list, but should not be cited in any detail until it is published (guaranteed 2004 probably spring). Permission is granted for others to use the information on these web pages for preparation of a proposal to Unicode for a standard encoding of Cuneiform. The proposed sign list itself is free of any restrictions.