________________
CUNEIFORM WRITING
45 the script became linear. There are relatively few Mesopotamian documents extant which give us early writing (Fig. 20). These consist of clay tablets and on them the signs appear clearly to be mere developments of earlier forms. The original signs have not survived since their makers
si, de 1 gar (REC 417) si, see
the
gar. -III gar, !
gar, 11 se, gar. El se. H gar. E TT gar. II S.
et tu, ET C . -11et1
tu. -III
1!
gar,
si
Elle
en
,
EE, L
T
,,
,
-
19
H - 20
21
ICE
22 23
Fig. 18—1, Cuneiform homophones. 2, Cuneiform determinatives. 3. Assyrian
cuneiform symbols for syllables and vowels
I. ilu, "god": 2, arkl, "month": 3, matu, "countryand shadu, "mountain": 4, sharu, "wind": 5, alu, "locality":6, ishten, "one," determinative of masculine names; 7. amelu. "man." "person." determinative of ethnical and professional namest 8, isti, "wood, "tree"; 9, shammu, "plant": 10, altru, place," determinative of place-finnes; 12, munu,
fish", 13. tubatu, "dress"; the sins 13. 14 and 15 (written after the other element) were the determinatives of the plural; the signs 16 and 17 (also after the other element) were the determinatives of numerals; the sign 18 (tuna, "wo"), of dual, was also
written after the other element 3-1, da; 2, da, 3.30; 4. Wha; 5. ka; 6. qu: 7. l; 8, ma: 0, 4, 10, pu: 11, a: 12, 19:13, su:
14 and 15. sha: 176 rey (we, M: 18. 2. 19-23, the main vowel-signs
