We're sunsetting PodQuest on 2025-07-28. Thank you for your support!
Export Podcast Subscriptions
cover of episode Cuneiform (Radio Edit)

Cuneiform (Radio Edit)

2025/6/20
logo of podcast You're Dead to Me

You're Dead to Me
AI Deep Dive AI Chapters Transcript
People
G
Greg Jenner
M
Moody Al-Rashid
P
Phil Wang
Topics
Greg Jenner: 作为一名历史学家，我将和嘉宾一起探讨有史以来第一个文字系统——楔形文字的历史。我向大家推荐 Dr. Moody Al-Rashid 的新书《两河之间：古代美索不达米亚与历史的诞生》。欢迎喜剧演员 Phil Wang 再次做客我们的节目，他是个“傻瓜学家”。 Moody Al-Rashid: 楔形文字是一种在公元前3000年左右在现在的伊拉克南部发展起来的文字系统，它是一种文字，而不是一种语言。楔形文字的名字来源于拉丁语“cuneus”，意思是楔形。在阿卡德语中，楔形文字被称为“sataku”或“santaku”，意思是三角形。许多不同的人使用楔形文字来书写许多不同的语言，主要用于古代美索不达米亚地区。苏美尔语和阿卡德语是古代美索不达米亚的两种主要语言。Rawlinson 在解码贝希斯敦铭文中只扮演了次要角色，因为在他之前，其他语文学家已经做了大量工作。1857年，皇家亚洲学会正式宣布楔形文字已被解码，并由此诞生了一门新的学科：亚述学。亚述学研究古代亚述以及存在于美索不达米亚的其他文明。尼尼微皇家图书馆藏有天文学、医学、文学和预兆等各种学科的作品。最早的名字之一是啤酒酿造商 Cushim。在古代美索不达米亚，超自然的东西是真实存在的，神圣和科学之间有着非常紧密的联系。最晚的可追溯的楔形文字泥板来自公元79或80年，最后一块楔形文字泥板也来自乌鲁克。 Phil Wang: 很高兴再次来到节目。我想到三角形、谷物和“古老”这个词。理想情况下，你需要找到像罗塞塔石碑一样的线索，否则你需要寻找模式和结构。你需要寻找重复的符号，并看看它们是否有逻辑。我会考虑做国王替身。

Deep Dive

Chapters
This chapter explores the basics of cuneiform, its name's meaning, who used it, and how Henry Rawlinson and other philologists deciphered it using trilingual inscriptions like the Behistun inscription. It highlights the importance of pattern recognition and the role of the word 'of' in the deciphering process.
  • Cuneiform is a writing system, not a language.
  • Its name comes from the Latin word for 'wedge'.
  • Henry Rawlinson, a British officer, played a key role in deciphering cuneiform.
  • The Behistun inscription was crucial in the deciphering process.

Shownotes Transcript

Greg Jenner is joined in ancient Mesopotamia by Dr Moudhy Al-Rashid and comedian Phil Wang to learn about the history of cuneiform, the oldest writing system in the world.

In the 19th Century, European scholars began to translate inscriptions found on ruins and clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia - an area of the world between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that encompasses modern Iraq, as well as parts of Syria, Iran, Turkey and Kuwait. The script they deciphered became known as cuneiform, and this distinctive wedge-shaped writing system is perhaps the oldest in the world. The earliest cuneiform tablet is in fact over 5,000 years old.

These clay tablets reveal much about the daily life of people in this part of the ancient world, recording everything from the amounts of beer sold by brewers and the best way to ask the gods for advice, to squabbles between husbands and wives and even the lullabies used to get babies to sleep. The first recorded epic poem, The Epic of Gilgamesh, is also preserved thanks to cuneiform. This episode traces the history of cuneiform, exploring how this script worked, who used it and what they used it for, what it tells us about the inhabitants of ancient Mesopotamia, and how it was finally deciphered.

This is a radio edit of the original podcast episode. For the full-length version, please look further back in the feed.

Hosted by: Greg Jenner Research by: Hannah Cusworth and Matt Ryan Written by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow, Emma Nagouse, and Greg Jenner Produced by: Emmie Rose Price-Goodfellow and Greg Jenner Audio Producer: Steve Hankey Production Coordinator: Ben Hollands Senior Producer: Emma Nagouse Executive Editor: James Cook