Add Context - 4. Alphanumeric Notation and the Calendrical-Musical Kosmos
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But narratives written in this (non)grammatical format with its agglutinative word formation were difficult to follow for someone who did not already know their basic content. Many functions that today are expressed in writing had to be committed to memory. In sum, cuneiform texts were nowhere near as self-explanatory as are modern books. They are especially hard for modern outsiders coming in cold.
[Omitted text: [an archaic Natural Law to ground social traditions in the rhythms of physical nature.]]
[Unrelated omitted text: As Chapter 5 will elaborate, it] may not be merely coincidental that the Akkadian sign for water, mem, occupying the first position in the cuneiform syllabary described by Zimmern[1] (1896 see also Driver[2] 1948: pp. 157–158, subsequently evolved into the Canaanite (and hence Greek and modern) letter m, originally μῦ, recalling the wavy zigzag line traditionally used to denote water.Originally written here was a note from the author: “an archaic Natural Law to ground social traditions in the rhythms of physical nature.” If you can help flesh this out and add a paragraph related to the author’s note, please let us know.
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- ↑ H. Zimmern, “Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Alphabets,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft, Vol. 50 (1896), pp. 667–670.
- ↑ G.R. Driver, Semitic Writing From Pictograph to Alphabet (Oxford: 1948), p. 157–158.
