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A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical TextsAn Old Sumerian Metro-Mathematical Table Text (Early Dynastic IIIa)

A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical Texts: An Old Sumerian Metro-Mathematical... An Old Sumerian Metro-Mathematical Table Text (Early Dynastic IIIa) Shuruppak was one of the Sumerian city states, situated on the Euphrates river in south-central Mesopota- mia. Excavations in 1902-03 by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft and in 1931 by the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania uncovered important remains from the Early Dynastic period, including a wealth of cuneiform documents, both administrative texts and school texts, from the Early Dynastic IIIa period (c. 2600-2500 BC). Among the school texts are some of the earliest known mathematical, or rather “metro- mathematical”, texts (see below, Figs 6.1.1-6.1.2). The term “metro-mathematical” is appropriate, since all numbers appearing in these early mathematical texts are various kinds of measure numbers (length numbers, area numbers, capacity numbers, etc.). 6.1. Three Previously Published Metro-Mathematical School Texts from Shuruppak As an introduction to the discussion of MS 3047 below (Fig. 6.2.1), three previously published metro-math- ematical school texts from Shuruppak will be considered, all of them like MS 3047 dealing with areas of quadrilaterals. The texts will be presented here in hand copies with rotated cuneiform signs, like MS 3047 obv., although they were probably written with unrotated, upright signs. obv. da # 1 # 2 2 1 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Remarkable Collection of Babylonian Mathematical TextsAn Old Sumerian Metro-Mathematical Table Text (Early Dynastic IIIa)

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Publisher
Springer New York
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
ISBN
978-0-387-34543-7
Pages
147 –153
DOI
10.1007/978-0-387-48977-3_6
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

An Old Sumerian Metro-Mathematical Table Text (Early Dynastic IIIa) Shuruppak was one of the Sumerian city states, situated on the Euphrates river in south-central Mesopota- mia. Excavations in 1902-03 by the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft and in 1931 by the University Museum of the University of Pennsylvania uncovered important remains from the Early Dynastic period, including a wealth of cuneiform documents, both administrative texts and school texts, from the Early Dynastic IIIa period (c. 2600-2500 BC). Among the school texts are some of the earliest known mathematical, or rather “metro- mathematical”, texts (see below, Figs 6.1.1-6.1.2). The term “metro-mathematical” is appropriate, since all numbers appearing in these early mathematical texts are various kinds of measure numbers (length numbers, area numbers, capacity numbers, etc.). 6.1. Three Previously Published Metro-Mathematical School Texts from Shuruppak As an introduction to the discussion of MS 3047 below (Fig. 6.2.1), three previously published metro-math- ematical school texts from Shuruppak will be considered, all of them like MS 3047 dealing with areas of quadrilaterals. The texts will be presented here in hand copies with rotated cuneiform signs, like MS 3047 obv., although they were probably written with unrotated, upright signs. obv. da # 1 # 2 2 1

Published: Jan 1, 2007

Keywords: Short Side; Area Number; Longe Side; Length Number; Euphrates River

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