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BIRKBECK University of London
Academic Year:
2014-15
Module Title:
Introduction to Sumerian 1
Module Code:
SSHC279H4-ACB
Subject Area:
Archaeology
Award:
Certificate of Higher Education
Class Venue:
Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, room L103
(17 Russell Square, London WC1B 5DR)
First meeting:
Wednesday 8th October 2014, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Module taught by:
Adam Stone
Module Description
This module introduces you to the grammar of the Sumerian language and the principles of
writing Sumerian in the cuneiform script. Through lectures and exercises, you will acquire
the elementary skills required to read original inscriptions in Sumerian, the world's oldest
written language and the other main language of ancient Mesopotamia besides Akkadian.
The cuneiform script was developed around 3000 BC to record texts in Sumerian, but this
language died out around 2000 BC, after which it continued to be studied in schools and
used in cultic contexts until the beginning of our era.
Entry Requirements
This course forms part of the Certificate in History and Archaeology. There is a formal entry
requirement for this course, which is a successful completion of Birkbeck's two-term course
Introduction to Akkadian and the cuneiform script, or an equivalent. Introduction to Sumerian
is designed for students who know the Akkadian language, understand the principles of
cuneiform writing, and are able to identify cuneiform signs with the help of a sign list. Some
understanding of language description and grammatical terms will also be helpful in the
acquisition of Sumerian. All modules are taught at university level, and students should be
able to read, write and speak English fluently to benefit from their studies.
Aims and Outcomes
The main aim of the course is that students should develop the skills required for studying
the Sumerian language and monumental script at an introductory level that is reading and
translating of relatively uncomplicated royal inscriptions. This will open up the possibility to
read more advanced Sumerian texts, for example Sumerian myths and legends known from
Old Babylonian manuscripts that are subject of the follow-up course Introduction to
Sumerian 2 (SSHC280H4-ACB).
By the end of the course students should have a basic knowledge and understanding of the
Sumerian language, the archaic ductus of the cuneiform script used for Sumerian royal
inscriptions, and an appreciation of Sumerian culture and the history of Mesopotamia during
the third millennium BC. Students should be able to think critically about what they have
heard, read and seen and they should have completed and been assessed on their
coursework.
Teaching and Learning
The 10 two-hour class meetings will include short lectures, grammatical presentations, textbased work by students and feedback. Handouts will be provided. Students are expected to
practise each week’s material by means of homework exercises. Class meetings are
designed to be highly interactive and student participation is encouraged.
Learning Sumerian is a challenging task. Its structure is quite unlike European and Semitic
languages and there are no known cognate languages that could help elucidate its rules.
Modern understanding of Sumerian is therefore founded on Akkadian translations of
Sumerian texts, and the analysis of the way it was expressed in the cuneiform script.
Participation in the course is therefore restricted to students who know Akkadian and
understand the basic principles of cuneiform writing.
Coursework and assessment
Students taking accredited courses will be expected to prepare coursework for formal
assessment and such other coursework as is appropriate for the teaching and learning on
the course. Students must attend at least 50% of the meetings to qualify for assessment.
Students’ knowledge and skills will develop through participation in class work and through
individual research in the form of written work outside class hours. Homework is a
fundamental element of the course and students are strongly encouraged to spend several
hours per week, in addition to class time, on independent learning.
Independent coursework will consist of take home exercises aimed to improve student
abilities in independent deciphering and translating of Sumerian texts. Developing the
relevant study skills is an integral part of the course and guidance and support in relation to
all coursework will readily be given.
The coursework for formal assessment will consist of two assignments:
 one written exercises relating to the essential features of Sumerian grammar (50% of
total);
 one written exercise relating to slightly more complicated constructions (50% of total);
These assignments will be submitted to the lecturer for formal assessment during the course
and will be submitted to secondary examiners for final assessment. Full guidance in relation
to the assignments will be given in class and is available outside class hours if needed.
Course Content
1. The first half of the course (five sessions) is devoted to the presentation of the basic
rules of the Sumerian grammar: description and structure, morphology, and syntax.
Starting from the first week this presentation will be anchored on classroom reading
of Sumerian texts in the monumental ductus of the cuneiform script, initially with the
help of a transposition of the archaic signs into the more familiar Neo-Assyrian
ductus. The first assessment will be set at the end of week 5.
2. The second half of the course is centered on the classroom reading of a longer royal
inscription which will be used as a springboard for the discussion of more
complicated (and less common) grammatical features of the Sumerian language.
Throughout this part of the course the methods - and problems - in the study of
meaning and pronounciation of Sumerian words will be discussed, with ample
attention to Sumerian-Akkadian bilingual texts and variant writings.
3. Throughout the ten weeks of the course attention will be given to the culture and
history of Sumerian civilisation, most often on the basis of a specific passage that is
being read in class, or by way of introduction into a particular corpus of texts.
Other activities
Students will also be informed of, and are invited to, all pertinent Assyriological lectures and
events that will take place in the Bloomsbury area in the course of the academic year; details
for many of these events can be found in the London Diary for the Ancient Near East
(http://www.soas.ac.uk/nme/ane/ldane/).
Course bibliography
Basic Course Book:
VOLK, K. 1999. A Sumerian Reader (second, revised edition). Studia Pohl: Series Maior 18.
Rome: Editrice Pontificio Istituto Biblico
Students are strongly encouraged to purchase their own copy of this inexpensive and
brilliant study guide. Check http://www.deastore.com (and select category "Italian
books") for purchasing.
Sumerian grammar:
The following concise introductions into the grammar of the Sumerian language will be used
in the course:
BLACK, G. 2007. Sumerian. Pp. 4-30 in: POSTGATE, J.N.: 2007. Languages of Iraq, Ancient
and Modern. London: British School of Archaeology in Iraq
FOXVOG, D.A. 2012. Introduction to Sumerian Grammar (revised May 2012):
http://home.comcast.net/~foxvog/Grammar.pdf
MICHALOWSKI, P. 2008. Sumerian. Pp. 6-46 in: R.D. W OODARD (ed.), The Ancient Languages
of Mesopotamia, Egypt and Aksum. Cambridge University Press
ZÓLYOMI, G. 2005. Sumerisch. Pp. 11-43 in: M.P. STRECK (ed.), Sprachen des alten Orients.
Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
For a more comprehensive description of the Sumerian language see:
EDZARD, D.O. 2003. Sumerian Grammar. Leiden: Brill (affordable paperback reprint by the
Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, 2006)
JAGERSMA, A.H. 2010. A Descriptive Grammar of Sumerian (dissertation University of
Leiden). https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/16107
THOMSEN, M.-L. 1984. The Sumerian Language: An Introduction to its History and
Grammatical Structure. Mesopotamia 10. Copenhagen: Akademisk Verlag (third edition
2001)
Dictionary and glossaries:
The Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary: http://psd.museum.upenn.edu/epsd/index.html
FOXVOG, D.A. 2012. Elementary Sumerian Glossary (revised May 2012):
http://home.comcast.net/~foxvog/Glossary.pdf
Text editions:
ZÓLYOMI, G., TANOS, B. & SÖVEGJÁRTÓ, S. 2008-. The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian
Royal Inscriptions: http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/etcsri/index.html
Background Reading:
CRAWFORD, H. 1991. Sumer and the Sumerians. Cambridge University Press
KRAMER, S.N. 1963. The Sumerians: Their History, Culture and Character. The University of
Chicago Press
POSTGATE, J.N.: 1994. Early Mesopotamia: Society and Economy at the Dawn of History
(new edition). London and New York: Routledge
Library and study skills resources
You may find the following web links helpful for your studies.
 For information on the resources available for history students through Birkbeck
College Library, including on-line books, reference works, journals, catalogues, and
search
tools.
There
is
material
available
at
the
website
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/socialscience/history but please note for
Certificate and Diploma students some of the access schemes shown on these
pages are only available to degree students for further information please refer to
Aubrey Greenwood, Archaeology Subject Librarian.
 For guidance on study skills, including essay and report writing, research and
referencing, go to http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/studyskills.
Course Evaluation
During the course students will be asked to complete an evaluation form which gives the
opportunity to provide feedback on all aspects of their learning experience.
Further Information
For further information on issues such as student support, plagiarism and procedural
guidelines, please consult the History and Archaeology Student Handbook available on
Moodle: http://moodle.bbk.ac.uk/