Phil Wang

Was it a cumulative script? So they started off with some characters and as time progressed, they just created more and more characters in cuneiform to represent new things?

Was it a cumulative script? So they started off with some characters and as time progressed, they just created more and more characters in cuneiform to represent new things?

Oh, that's lovely. Two tablets across time. Oh, wow. Look at this. OK, beautiful. So I'm looking at it's a clay tablet from different angles and it looks like a flat sourdough loaf. I mean, it's kind of lumpy. It's irregular in that way. It looks... It's not like a perfectly square tablet. It looks like bread. Okay, so in the top left corner, it's sort of made out in grids.

Oh, that's lovely. Two tablets across time. Oh, wow. Look at this. OK, beautiful. So I'm looking at it's a clay tablet from different angles and it looks like a flat sourdough loaf. I mean, it's kind of lumpy. It's irregular in that way. It looks... It's not like a perfectly square tablet. It looks like bread. Okay, so in the top left corner, it's sort of made out in grids.

It's almost like a comic book. There are squares. It's sort of a grid pattern, and within each grid are a collection of symbols. Like the top left, there's two circles and then what looks like a sailboat. And then below that is more circles. Lost circles. Not so many triangles, actually. Lost circles and what looks like a fish. And under that, three circles and what looks like a river.

It's almost like a comic book. There are squares. It's sort of a grid pattern, and within each grid are a collection of symbols. Like the top left, there's two circles and then what looks like a sailboat. And then below that is more circles. Lost circles. Not so many triangles, actually. Lost circles and what looks like a fish. And under that, three circles and what looks like a river.

I feel like I'm picking out a theme here. I'm going to say this is a tablet about... A fisherman. He's caught 60 fish. Three from the river. This is live philology. There's something here that looks a bit like a harp and some reeds. So he plays music in his spare time. He practices in the reed garden. Is it a dating profile? Is this Hinge?

I feel like I'm picking out a theme here. I'm going to say this is a tablet about... A fisherman. He's caught 60 fish. Three from the river. This is live philology. There's something here that looks a bit like a harp and some reeds. So he plays music in his spare time. He practices in the reed garden. Is it a dating profile? Is this Hinge?

Yeah, there's something here about how he doesn't like pineapple on pizza. Loves long walks in the rain. Yeah, yeah. Wait, there's lots of circles. Is that counting? That's exactly right.

Yeah, there's something here about how he doesn't like pineapple on pizza. Loves long walks in the rain. Yeah, yeah. Wait, there's lots of circles. Is that counting? That's exactly right.

Well, yeah. I'm sort of using a lot of my knowledge of Chinese writing forms. Because counting in Chinese, one, two, three, one is one line, two is two lines, three is three lines. And then after that I go, this is not sustainable. And then it becomes.

Well, yeah. I'm sort of using a lot of my knowledge of Chinese writing forms. Because counting in Chinese, one, two, three, one is one line, two is two lines, three is three lines. And then after that I go, this is not sustainable. And then it becomes.

So is there a case to be made, you know, it's... We often sort of credit rivers, and especially in Mesopotamia's case, the two rivers, as being crucial to the success of these civilisations because of the fertility they provide in the soil. Mm-hm. But it's a case of you said that beyond that, they also provided the clay to write things down and for the society to progress in that domain as well.

So is there a case to be made, you know, it's... We often sort of credit rivers, and especially in Mesopotamia's case, the two rivers, as being crucial to the success of these civilisations because of the fertility they provide in the soil. Mm-hm. But it's a case of you said that beyond that, they also provided the clay to write things down and for the society to progress in that domain as well.

So it wasn't just sort of agriculture that the rivers allowed to happen, but record keeping as well.

So it wasn't just sort of agriculture that the rivers allowed to happen, but record keeping as well.

So river's good. River's good. River's good.

So river's good. River's good. River's good.

So I guess when something was written by those professionals in cuneiform, the intention was only ever for other professionals in the same field to be able to read it, really. There's no expectation that other people could read a pop science book about astrology at the time. It was only for other professionals to...

So I guess when something was written by those professionals in cuneiform, the intention was only ever for other professionals in the same field to be able to read it, really. There's no expectation that other people could read a pop science book about astrology at the time. It was only for other professionals to...