THE ADAPTATION PROCESS OF CUNEIFORM IN THE OLD BABYLONIAN PERIOD

Abstract

This dissertation explores the orthographic changes in cuneiform during the Old Babylonian Period (2004-1595 BCE). Over the course of several decades around 1900-1850 BCE, the cuneiform script underwent significant orthographic changes, and transformed from a script of Sumerian speakers to a script of Akkadian speakers. The decline of the Isin Dynasty and the fragmentation of the Ur III traditions formed the background for the growth of a new curriculum in scribal schools in Babylonia. This dissertation proposes that the new OB curriculum put emphasis on interpretation of the dead Sumerian language o Akkadian speakers which caused the cuneiform orthography to be more detailed, and consequently more suitable to writing Akkadian. In order to unpack this proposal, it is necessary to investigate how adaptations of scripts are done in general, and then track the roots of cuneiform and the background to the orthographic changes of the OB period. This thesis states that the cuneiform script is the only way to understand the Mesopotamian languages, and that script and language are inseparable. Like cuneiform writing itself, this dissertation develops across historical, geographical, and political lines, surveying textual material from northern and southern Babylonia, as it seeks to determine the date of the OB orthographic reform. Finally, the dissertation addresses the problem of the OA texts and their orthography, investigating whether it was executed in a unique non-professional manner, or merely preserved from the earlier Old Akkadian orthography with minor modifications.