World’s Oldest Dictionaries Are 4,500-Year-Old Cuneiform Tablets Discovered In Ebla
Ellen Lloyd - AncientPages.com - World’s oldest dictionaries come from the Akkadian Empire. The dictionaries are about 4,500-year-old and were discovered in Ebla, one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. They written on cuneiform tablets and are part of the famous ancient Ebla archive.
The text is written in the oldest Semitic language yet identified and deciphered with oldest know bilingual dictionary, written in Sumerian (a language already deciphered) and Elbaite. The Elbaites wrote in columns and used both sides of the tablets. Lists of figures were separated from the totals by a blank column. Treaties, descriptions of wars, and anthems to the gods were also recorded on tablets.
The Urra=hubullu glossary, a major Babylonian glossary or encyclopedia from the second millennium BCE, preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
By 2500 B.C. Sumerian scribes could write almost anything with 800 or so cuneiform signs, including myths, fables, essays, hymns, proverbs, epic poetry, lamentations, laws, lists of astronomical events, list of plants and animals, medical texts with lists ailments, and use of herbs.
See also:
Sumerian King List – Ancient Record Of Kingship That Has Long Been Of Great Interest
What Did Houses For Ordinary People In Sumer Look Like?
Food And Clothing Of Middle Class Of The Sumerian Society
More Fascinating Ancient History Facts
In the 1970s, as many as 15,000 clay tablets were discovered in northern Syria. One of the most famous Sumerian tablets contains a story about a great flood that destroyed Sumer. It is virtually the same story ascribed to Noah in the Old Testament. The same tablets also contain The Story of Gilgamesh.
The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Eblaites had large libraries of clay tablets. Cuneiform was used by speakers of 15 languages over 3,000 years.
With the advancement of education, the Sumerian schools developed into cultural centers of the state.
The Urra=hubullu glossary, a major Babylonian glossary or encyclopedia from the second millennium BCE, preserved in the Louvre Museum in Paris, is an excellent example of this early form of wordlist.
A Chinese dictionary, the c. 3rd century BCE Erya was the earliest surviving monolingual dictionary; although some sources cite the c. 800 BCE Shizhoupian as a "dictionary", modern scholarship considers it a calligraphic compendium of Chinese characters from Zhou dynasty bronzes.
Written by: Ellen Lloyd AncientPages.com
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
More From Ancient Pages
-
Early Farmers On The Baltic Coast Incorporated Fish Into Their Diets 6,000 Years Ago
Archaeology | Oct 17, 2023
-
Sacred City Of Caral – Site Of The Oldest Known Civilization In The Americas
Civilizations | Aug 28, 2018
-
Brahan Seer – A Legendary Scottish Nostradamus
Featured Stories | Feb 28, 2016
-
Peculiar Artifact Discovered In Tomb Of The Warrior Queen Fu Hao
Artifacts | Oct 26, 2018
-
Brokkr And Eitri – Norse Dwarves Who Fashioned Magical Artifacts For The Gods
Featured Stories | Aug 19, 2019
-
Strange Ancient Mechanical Flying Animals – Myths Or Advanced Ancient Technology? – Part 1
Featured Stories | Mar 25, 2020
-
Mystery Of The 290-Million-Year-Old Zapata Footprint In New Mexico
Featured Stories | Sep 23, 2020
-
Strange Mythical Creature Resembling A Sphinx Discovered In A Medieval Bathroom
Archaeology | Mar 10, 2020
-
Meskhenet: Egyptian Goddess Of Household And Childbirth Who Governed Over Fate And Destiny
Egyptian Mythology | Mar 14, 2019
-
Seven Fires Prophecy Of The Anishinaabe People And The Future Of The Turtle Island – Are Humans Standing At The Crossroads?
Featured Stories | Feb 14, 2019
-
120-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals Early Bird’s Leaf-Eating Habits
Fossils | Aug 8, 2023
-
Ancient Glass Workshop Unearthed At Iron Age Of Němčice
Archaeology | Jul 24, 2023
-
What Did Houses For Ordinary People In Sumer Look Like?
Ancient History Facts | Jul 30, 2017
-
Stone Age Settlement Discovered Underwater In Finland
Archaeology | Aug 9, 2018
-
Prehistoric Heavy Machinery Of The Ancient Times Or A Piece Of Jewelry?
Ancient Technology | Sep 12, 2018
-
Solutrean People: Were First Americans European Stone Age People?
Civilizations | Feb 23, 2018
-
Underground City And Pyramid Discovered At Tiahuanaco, Bolivia
Archaeology | Aug 3, 2018
-
Strange Case Of The ‘Impossible’ Glove Remains Unexplained – The Discovery – Part 1
Featured Stories | May 24, 2019
-
How Gold Rushes Helped Make The Modern World
Featured Stories | Aug 1, 2019
-
Mystery Of The Ancient Reptilian Gods Remains A Complex Subject – Alien Worlds – Part 2
Featured Stories | Feb 9, 2022