COUNTING TABLET: UNKNOWN COMMODITY

MS 3007
MS Short Title COUNTING TABLET: UNKNOWN COMMODITY
Text NUMBERS 10 AND 5 +4 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 3
Description MS on clay, Syria/Sumer/Highland Iran, ca. 3500-3200 BC, 1 elliptical tablet, 6,7x4,4x1,9 cm, 2+1 compartments, 2 of which with 3 columns of single numbers as small circular depressions.
Commentary

Numerical or counting tablets with their more complex combination of decimal and sexagesimal numbers are a further step from the tallies with the simplest form of counting in one-to-one correspondence. They were used parallel with the bulla-envelopes with tokens.

The commodity counted was not indicated in the beginning, but was gradually imbedded in the numbers system or with a seal or a pictograph of the commodity added, i. e. development into ideonumerographical tablets, the forerunners to pictographic tablets. There are only about 260 numerical tablets known. Most of them are found in Iran.

Place of origin Syria / Sumer / Highland Iran
Dates ca 3500 - 3200 BC