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Clark (Cumberland) Cuneiform Tablet collection
LSC.1826
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Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Title: Cumberland Clark Cuneiform Tablet collection
Creator:
Anonymous
Identifier/Call Number: LSC.1826
Physical Description:
4 oversize boxes
Date (inclusive): circa 2000-1600 BCE
Abstract: Twenty-five cuneiform tablets from the ancient Mesopotamian school environment called eduba (literally, "house of tablets")
and includes examples ranging from simple sign exercises to advanced Sumerian literary exercises. The majority of the texts
come from the Old Babylonian period, which began after the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca. 2000 BCE) and continued until
the Hittites conquered Babylon in 1595 BCE.
Physical Location: Stored off-site. All requests to access special collections material must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Language of Material:
Sumerian
.
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained
by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue
the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Anonymous gift, 2007.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
9966841373606533
[Identification of item], Cumberland Clark Cuneiform Tablet collection (Collection 1826). UCLA Library Special Collections,
Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Processed by Sara Brumfield in the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT), with assistance from Kelley Wolfe Bachli,
2008.
Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user
interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides
a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive
processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.
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The collection of 25 cuneiform tablets were donated in 2007 by an anonymous donor who wished to name the collection after
Cumberland Clark.
While the exact provenience of this collection is unknown, it has been established that the corpus of texts came from an ancient
Mesopotamian school environment called an
eduba (literally, "house of tablets"). It was at the
eduba that scribes received their training in the scribal arts. A student would train from early childhood to adulthood to become
a
dubsar (literally, "tablet writer"). Their curriculum, as represented in this collection, was comprised of learning sign formations,
copying lexical lists, learning mathematics, and popular epics of the Mesopotamian culture.
The majority of the texts come from the Old Babylonian period, which began after the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2000
BCE) and continued until the Hittites conquered Babylon in 1595 BCE. Most of the Old Babylonian period was spent in political
fragmentation, which created smaller independent scribal traditions at different cities. Only under the reign of King Hammurabi
(c. 1795-1750 BCE) was there a degree of centralization. This political environment had a direct impact on the scribal curriculum
as a uniform course of instruction would indicate a state-run school, whereas a variegated curriculum would seem to refer
to privately run schools.
It is within this context that the Cumberland Clark Cuneiform Tablet Collection exists. The content of the texts suggests
significant editing of previously standardized lexical lists and literary passages. However, the general pattern and progression
of instruction remain constant as the collection exhibits examples from the simplest sign exercises to advanced Sumerian literary
exercises.
Twenty-five cuneiform tablets from the ancient Mesopotamian school environment called
eduba (literally, "house of tablets") and includes examples ranging from simple sign exercises to advanced Sumerian literary exercises.
The majority of the texts come from the Old Babylonian period, which began after the fall of the Third Dynasty of Ur (ca.
2000 BCE) and continued until the Hittites conquered Babylon in 1595 BCE.
Tablets are described at the item level.
Edward A. Dickson Cuneiform Tablet collection (Collection 1813) . Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online:
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) - Clark, Cumberland (Probably Dispersed) - Collections.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cuneiform tablets.