A 3500-year-old receipt, on which someone recorded a furniture sale
September 8, 2024 4:05 PM Subscribe
Researchers have discovered that a clay tablet found in Turkey is actually a 3500-year-old receipt, on which someone recorded a furniture sale. The small clay rectangle is engraved with an ancient Semitic language known as Akkadian (Smithsonian Magazine).
"Some assembly required" Pictographs on reverse side.
posted by BWA at 4:19 PM on September 8 [6 favorites]
posted by BWA at 4:19 PM on September 8 [6 favorites]
He had to press SO HARD to make all the carbon copies.
posted by PlusDistance at 4:22 PM on September 8 [12 favorites]
posted by PlusDistance at 4:22 PM on September 8 [12 favorites]
Is there another receipt somewhere memorializing the other side of the transaction?
Cuneiform comes with its own form of carbon paper. Fire up your tablet. Then press it against a clay lump to get the mirror image. Fire that up. Repeat as needed.
posted by ocschwar at 4:31 PM on September 8 [5 favorites]
Cuneiform comes with its own form of carbon paper. Fire up your tablet. Then press it against a clay lump to get the mirror image. Fire that up. Repeat as needed.
posted by ocschwar at 4:31 PM on September 8 [5 favorites]
So who says prostitution is the oldest profession? I mean, we're getting very, very close .....
The History of the Profession. Accounts of prostitution go back to the sexual services provided by priestesses in the temples of Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:35 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
The History of the Profession. Accounts of prostitution go back to the sexual services provided by priestesses in the temples of Mesopotamia over 4,000 years ago.
posted by thecincinnatikid at 4:35 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
Welcome to Ea-nāṣir's Fine Quality Furniture Mart. All sales are final. No refunds
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:39 PM on September 8 [13 favorites]
posted by Hairy Lobster at 4:39 PM on September 8 [13 favorites]
Akkadian is better known as the language of Babylon and Assyria.
(Also, the bulk of cuneiform tablets are accounting and/or administration, so this is not surprising.)
posted by zompist at 4:43 PM on September 8 [4 favorites]
(Also, the bulk of cuneiform tablets are accounting and/or administration, so this is not surprising.)
posted by zompist at 4:43 PM on September 8 [4 favorites]
Is there another receipt somewhere memorializing the other side of the transaction?
Maybe it was like how a notary public functions, or simply a bill of sale.
posted by Brian B. at 4:50 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
Maybe it was like how a notary public functions, or simply a bill of sale.
posted by Brian B. at 4:50 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
If that furniture was made of substandard copper then we'll also have discovered the world's oldest literary crossover.
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:05 PM on September 8 [4 favorites]
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 5:05 PM on September 8 [4 favorites]
The article described a different tablet from the 21st century BCE as "slightly newer" than this 15th century BCE tablet, which is rather confusing.
It does sound like the content of this tablet is pretty routine, but given the huge number of discovered cuneiform tablets that still have yet to be translated or receive scholarly attention, it's cool that the occasional puzzle piece being fitted still attracts attention. The prospect of finding another great work of ancient literature in the untranslated libraries is of course exciting, but in a lot of ways these "mundane" receipts and letters teach us so much more about what it was like to live in these societies.
posted by biogeo at 5:19 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]
It does sound like the content of this tablet is pretty routine, but given the huge number of discovered cuneiform tablets that still have yet to be translated or receive scholarly attention, it's cool that the occasional puzzle piece being fitted still attracts attention. The prospect of finding another great work of ancient literature in the untranslated libraries is of course exciting, but in a lot of ways these "mundane" receipts and letters teach us so much more about what it was like to live in these societies.
posted by biogeo at 5:19 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]
The token represents a transaction in the real world (some furniture changed ownership), but who keeps the token?
Two possibilities:
(a) It represented a purchase made in advance (probably most furniture would be made to order rather than on spec?) or
(b) It was a purchase made by the state, in which case it might feed into the state accounting system.
posted by praemunire at 5:26 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
Two possibilities:
(a) It represented a purchase made in advance (probably most furniture would be made to order rather than on spec?) or
(b) It was a purchase made by the state, in which case it might feed into the state accounting system.
posted by praemunire at 5:26 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
I'm going to assume a reciet was needed for delivery/transport. Furniture business can be rough.
previously
Our Uncle's in the Furniture Business and His Body's in the Trunk.
posted by clavdivs at 5:33 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
previously
Our Uncle's in the Furniture Business and His Body's in the Trunk.
posted by clavdivs at 5:33 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
Came with a little papyrus bag of hardware, but was short one washer.
posted by Czjewel at 5:41 PM on September 8 [5 favorites]
posted by Czjewel at 5:41 PM on September 8 [5 favorites]
So who says prostitution is the oldest profession
Maybe couch-making came first.
posted by unearthed at 7:17 PM on September 8
Maybe couch-making came first.
posted by unearthed at 7:17 PM on September 8
What is best in life?
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.
A close second is a memory-foam cushion for a chair from Unpainted Ahmed's, the absolute first bargain store in the entire world.
Few people know this and you won't find it In any book, but the line about Unpainted Ahmed's got cut from the original script. Arnold kept giggling about the alliteration (as Germans do) until the director gave up and hired Ahmed's daughter to play a barbarian princess, instead of giving him a mention, just to get some funding. Mongol's don't come cheap, you know. After the movie, we realized Danny had created a really good facsimile of a clay receipt slab, so we went on a 7-day bender and went and buried it. Why? Because f*** those archaeologists! No idea where - all I can remember is waking up in Madagascar with one of those ferrety things dancing on my forehead. What the hell are those things?
-- Harold "Lloyd" Humbucker (no relation)*, uncredited script supervisor for the Conan movies.
*(no relation) is actually his last name for legal reasons
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:21 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]
To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.
A close second is a memory-foam cushion for a chair from Unpainted Ahmed's, the absolute first bargain store in the entire world.
Few people know this and you won't find it In any book, but the line about Unpainted Ahmed's got cut from the original script. Arnold kept giggling about the alliteration (as Germans do) until the director gave up and hired Ahmed's daughter to play a barbarian princess, instead of giving him a mention, just to get some funding. Mongol's don't come cheap, you know. After the movie, we realized Danny had created a really good facsimile of a clay receipt slab, so we went on a 7-day bender and went and buried it. Why? Because f*** those archaeologists! No idea where - all I can remember is waking up in Madagascar with one of those ferrety things dancing on my forehead. What the hell are those things?
-- Harold "Lloyd" Humbucker (no relation)*, uncredited script supervisor for the Conan movies.
*(no relation) is actually his last name for legal reasons
posted by JustSayNoDawg at 7:21 PM on September 8 [3 favorites]
"That belongs in a *showroom*!"
posted by credulous at 8:55 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
posted by credulous at 8:55 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
Very interesting, but would it hurt the Smithsonian or any of the links in the article to provide a translation of what the tablet says??? If someone can find what I can't I'd love to see it!
posted by theartandsound at 9:14 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
posted by theartandsound at 9:14 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
"The findings will be published in a peer-reviewed study led by Türker, but so far, their translation of the tablet reveals the purchase of roughly 200 or more wooden tables, chairs and stools."
posted by praemunire at 9:35 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 9:35 PM on September 8 [1 favorite]
press it against a clay lump to get the mirror image. Fire that up. Repeat as needed.
The original tap to share.
posted by pwnguin at 9:46 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
The original tap to share.
posted by pwnguin at 9:46 PM on September 8 [2 favorites]
... But did they get the Friends and Family discount?
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 6:55 AM on September 9
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 6:55 AM on September 9
The most frequently recorded items of 2024 probably won't be preserved for generations to come. But I'm pretty sure that a daily task list like the one I have in my Any.Do app would be a contender.
'Experts examined the writing on the Alalakh tablet and found that it contains a record of a "large amount of furniture shopping"'
I smiled :-)
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:37 AM on September 9
'Experts examined the writing on the Alalakh tablet and found that it contains a record of a "large amount of furniture shopping"'
I smiled :-)
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 7:37 AM on September 9
HOW CAN TABLES BE A JOB
posted by Dokterrock at 10:56 PM on September 9
posted by Dokterrock at 10:56 PM on September 9
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