2018CohenY

Fragments of the article Cohen Y. An Old Babylonian List of Sheep Body Parts (BM 29663) (2018).

Introduction

The article translates the Akkadian text of a clay tablet (BM 29663) from Mesopotamia in the Old Babylonian period (2000-1600 BCE), it is a list of sheep body parts and inner organs. Probably, the document was created to help the Mesopotamian Diviner. The author of the text on the clay tablet is unknown.

Quotes selected that mention LCF

Quote 1. P. 132

«10) 10. ni-im-šu»

Quote 2. P. 135

«10. ni-im-šu → nimšu, “sciatic nerve”, “sinew” (CAD N/2 235 [1992RothMT]; CAD Š/2 309 [1992RothMT]; Starr 1983, 64».

Keywords

ligamentum capitis femoris, ligamentum teres, ligament of head of femur, akkadian, anatomy, sheep, animals

Original Article

Cohen Y. An Old Babylonian List of Sheep Body Parts (BM 29663). In Panayotov SV, Vacin L. (Eds). Mesopotamian Medicine and Magic. Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2018:131-48. [academia.edu]

Authors & Affiliations

Yoram Cohen

Tel Aviv University

Our commentary on the quotes

The article we are discussing is devoted to the first attempt to translate the Mesopotamian clay tablet BM 29663, stored in the British Museum (© The Trustees of the British Museum, «Lexical list; parts of a sheep; Larsa script» №1898,1115.49 britishmuseum.org). Yoram Cohen identified the anatomical term «ni-im-šu» (ni-im-shu) in the cuneiform Akkadian text (frontside, line №10). This concept, from the translator’s point of view, can mean «sciatic nerve» or «sinew» of a sheep. The first work devoted to the study of this tablet was published by the author in 2016 (2016CohenY). Based on our translation analysis, the Akkadian concept «ni-im-šu» inscribed on the tablet BM 29663 denotes the ligamentum capitis femoris (LCF). This is likely the first written mention of LCF in human history, dating back to 2000-1600 BCE. The anatomical element «ni-im-šu» was known to the creators of the ancient Hebrew literary monument «Bereshit», translated into English as «Genesis». The ancient Hebrew term for LCF was «גיד» (gheed, gid) (Bereshit 32:33; 1923,2004PreussJ; 2019ArkhipovSV_SkvortsovDV; 2020ArkhipovSV_ProlyginaIV).

References

Cohen Y. Sheep Anatomical Terminology in the šumma immeru Omen Series and Additional Texts. Divination as Science: A Workshop Conducted during the 60th Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Warsaw 2014. Warsaw: Eisenbrauns, 2016;79–92. [academia.edu]

Bereshit, Chapter 32:33 [chabad.org]

Arkhipov SV, Skvortsov DV. Ligamentum capitis femoris: first written mentions. MLTJ. 2019;9(2)156–64. [researchgate.net(PDF) , mltj.online]

Arkhipov SV, Prolygina IV. Ancient Textual Sources on Ligamentum Teres: Context and Transmission. MLTJ. 2020;10(3):536-546. doi:10.32098/mltj.03.2020.27 [mltj.online , mltj.online(PDF) , researchgate.net]

Roth MT (Ed.) The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; Vol. 11, Pt. II. Chicago, Glückstadt: Published by the Oriental Institute and J.J. Augustin verlagbuchhandlung, 1992; CAD N/2. [oi.uchicago.edu]

Roth MT (Ed.) The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago; Vol. 17, Pt. II. Chicago, Glückstadt: Published by the Oriental Institute and J.J. Augustin verlagbuchhandlung, 1992; CAD Š/2. [oi.uchicago.edu]

Starr I. The rituals of the Diviner. Bibliotheca Mesopotamica 12. Malibu: Undena Publication, 1983.

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PRE-SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

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