# Name-element enrichment against a corpus baseline

> Turn the claim that archaic names 'lack' the elements of later Sumerian names into a test that can fail, without needing to read the names. Run 10 times…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/methods/MTH0DFQRJYNCY4T/name-element-enrichment-against-a-corpus-baseline  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Methods](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods)[Epigraphy; onomastics; statistics](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods?kind=statistics-and-information)Name-element enrichment against a corpus baseline

Method · epigraphy; onomastics; statistics

# Name-element enrichment against a corpus baseline

Turn the claim that archaic names 'lack' the elements of later Sumerian names into a test that can fail, without needing to read the names.

**Epigraphy; onomastics; statistics** Version **1.0** Licence **MIT10** runsUsed on **1** mystery

## Questions it answers

- [Do the roughly 440 personal names in the archaic texts follow Sumerian, Semitic or some other naming pattern?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDTDFDF2VV/do-the-roughly-440-personal-names-in-the-archaic-texts)
- [Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3)
- [What language, if any, do the proto-cuneiform texts record?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT73JJJ1B/what-language-if-any-do-the-proto-cuneiform-texts-record)

## Code Python

[Download module (.py)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/private/c20aefb18fb32b6dbb4529863697ce12c16e8f9c761116e012885a837443d899)`names_test.py`[View source](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/private/c20aefb18fb32b6dbb4529863697ce12c16e8f9c761116e012885a837443d899)

## Runs and results 10 runs · 6 shown

| Run | Mystery | Measured | Result | Against | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RUN0DFQT81BSPP3 | Proto-cuneiform: | Share of names containing at least one listed element, against a resampling null; token odds ratio with a tablet-cluster bootstrap | {'S_vs_B1': {'or_95': [1.09, 1.6], 'null_95': [0.074, 0.124], 'decision': 'NO PREFERENCE', 'observed': 0.124, 'odds_ratio': 1.35, 'null_median': 0.098}, 'S_vs_B2': {'or_95': [0.7, 1.38], 'null_95': [0.104, 0.159], 'decision': 'NO PREFERENCE', 'observed': 0.124, 'odds_ratio': 0.97, 'null_median': 0.13}, 'S+EN_vs_B1': {'or_95': [1.31, 2.2], 'null_95': [0.137, 0.2], 'decision': 'ENRICHED', 'observed': 0.265, 'odds_ratio': 1.8, 'null_median': 0.169}, 'S+EN_vs_B2': {'or_95': [0.79, 1.51], 'null_95': [0.215, 0.285], 'decision': 'NO PREFERENCE', 'observed': 0.265, 'odds_ratio': 1.11, 'null_median': 0.25}} | B1: 17,976 Uruk III administrative non-name entries · B2: 300 non-name entries on the 41 name tablets | |
| RUN0DFVQR5WN96F | Proto-cuneiform: | Share of names containing at least one of Englund's elements against a length-matched null; token odds ratio with a text-cluster bootstrap | {'ED_I-II': {'names': 326, 'or_95': [4.66, 7.12], 'observed': 0.402, 'odds_ratio': 5.84, 'null_median': 0.089}, 'ED_IIIa': {'names': 11799, 'or_95': [4.71, 5.01], 'observed': 0.465, 'odds_ratio': 4.86, 'null_median': 0.14}, 'ED_IIIb': {'names': 31083, 'or_95': [4.39, 4.55], 'observed': 0.528, 'odds_ratio': 4.47, 'null_median': 0.184}, 'Uruk_III_archaic': {'names': 540, 'or_95': [1.09, 1.6], 'observed': 0.124, 'odds_ratio': 1.35, 'null_median': 0.098}} | Each corpus's own non-proper-noun lemmatized words (ED) or non-name administrative entries (Uruk III) | |
| RUN0DFVQREA5Q7V | Proto-cuneiform: | Pearson chi-square of EN-name counts against a common rate; method-of-moments between-tablet SD; leave-one-tablet-out rates | {'p': 0.11, 'df': 40, 'chi2': 51.2, 'MS3035_rate': 0.238, 'pooled_rate': 0.167, 'MRAH_O4995_rate': 0.206, 'between_tablet_sd': 0.019, 'Ashm_1926-0566_rate': 0, 'rate_without_top2_tablets': 0.144} | A common EN rate across all 41 name tablets | |
| RUN0DG2CWRH4M9P | Proto-cuneiform: | Token odds ratio of Englund's Sumerian name elements in dependent workers' names against the period's other words; share of names with at least one element against a length-matched null | {'D2_strict': {'n': 5142, 'null': 0.217, 'or_95': [4.45, 4.77], 'share': 0.65, 'texts': 88, 'odds_ratio': 4.6}, 'ED_IIIb_all': {'n': 31083, 'or_95': [4.39, 4.55], 'share': 0.528, 'odds_ratio': 4.47}, 'D3_line_level': {'n': 35, 'null': 0.171, 'or_95': [1.57, 5.08], 'share': 0.429, 'texts': 22, 'odds_ratio': 3.25}, 'D1_ration_lists': {'n': 6894, 'null': 0.209, 'or_95': [4.57, 4.87], 'share': 0.603, 'texts': 99, 'odds_ratio': 4.72}, 'Uruk_III_archaic': {'n': 540, 'or_95': [1.09, 1.6], 'share': 0.124, 'odds_ratio': 1.35}} | Non-proper-noun lemmatized words of ED IIIb | |
| RUN0DG2F4F55YJ8 | Proto-cuneiform: | Element odds ratio (Englund's list without EN) per context group, with a tablet-cluster bootstrap; compared with the Early Dynastic benchmark | {'OTHERS': {'n': 269, 'or_95': [0.93, 1.65], 'odds_ratio': 1.27}, 'TITLED': {'n': 61, 'or_95': [0.6, 2.34], 'odds_ratio': 1.38}, 'WORKERS': {'n': 245, 'or_95': [0.88, 1.77], 'odds_ratio': 1.4}, 'NO_HEADER': {'n': 26, 'or_95': [0.52, 3.62], 'odds_ratio': 1.93}, 'ED_dependents': 4.72, 'ED_benchmark_range': [4.47, 5.84]} | Uruk III administrative non-name entries · Early Dynastic Sumerian benchmark from RUN0DFVQR5WN96F and RUN0DG2CWRH4M9P | |
| RUN0DG2MEXJ8YZH | Proto-cuneiform: | Five order-free reuse metrics at matched token count (1,103), archaic names against 200 subsamples each of archaic administrative entries and Early Dynastic names | {'m3_ttr': {'ED': [0.149, 0.211], 'names': 0.191, 'labels': [0.242, 0.272], 'verdict': 'NAME-LIKE'}, 'overall': 'NAME-LIKE', 'm1_reuse': {'ED': [0.54, 0.671], 'names': 0.569, 'labels': [0.505, 0.601], 'verdict': 'UNDECIDED'}, 'm2_top10': {'ED': [0.315, 0.373], 'names': 0.317, 'labels': [0.194, 0.236], 'verdict': 'NAME-LIKE'}, 'm4_pairs': {'ED': [0.478, 0.66], 'names': 0.382, 'labels': [0.249, 0.379], 'verdict': 'UNDECIDED'}, 'm5_repeat': {'ED': [0.198, 0.342], 'names': 0.3, 'labels': [0.208, 0.268], 'verdict': 'NAME-LIKE'}} | Archaic Uruk III administrative non-name entries of length 1–7 (labels) · Early Dynastic I–II, IIIa, IIIb lemmatized personal names (names) | |

## Applied to

![Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/proto-cuneiform-lead)

**[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)3 datasets** Archaic personal names in proto-cuneiform (editor-marked, CDLI), Early Dynastic Sumerian personal names, lemmatized (Oracc ePSD2 admin corpora ED I–II, IIIa, IIIb), Nino-cunei/uruk: the Uruk IV-III corpus in Text-Fabric

## References

1. [Englund's fullest statement of the case against assuming Sumerian: about 440 probable slave names with no Sumerian divine or ur-/amar- elements, qualifier-before-noun syntax, and criticism of Rubio, Wilcke and Steiner. Cuneiform Digital Library Journal 2009:4. CC BY 4.0.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHS1CGJMA/the-smell-of-the-cage)
1. [Updated sign-frequency list for the whole CDLI proto-cuneiform corpus (6,726 artifacts, 5,274 with readable signs, about 53,000 non-numerical tokens as of May 2020), an open counting tool, and a test showing the Tribute list's first section uses sign pairs rare in administrative texts. Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2021:6.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJQ7HN4AW/a-quantitative-analysis-of-proto-cuneiform-sign-use-in)
1. [Jakob Andersson 2012. Kingship in the Early Mesopotamian Onomasticon 2800–2200 BCE.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DFQR3XM5SHF/kingship-in-the-early-mesopotamian-onomasticon-28002200-bce)

[Download module](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/private/c20aefb18fb32b6dbb4529863697ce12c16e8f9c761116e012885a837443d899)

Category

Epigraphy; onomastics; statistics

Version

1.0 · 2 Nov 2026

Licence

MIT

Language

Python

Inputs

A table of name entries (signs per name, tablet); the non-name entries of the same corpus as a baseline; a list of candidate elements fixed before any rate is computed.

Output

For each element set and baseline: the share of names with at least one element, its null distribution, a token odds ratio with a cluster-bootstrap interval, per-element rates and a three-way decision (enriched, depleted, no preference).

Cite

[BibTeX](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods/MTH0DFQRJYNCY4T/name-element-enrichment-against-a-corpus-baseline/cite.bib) · [APA](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods/MTH0DFQRJYNCY4T/name-element-enrichment-against-a-corpus-baseline/cite.txt)

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Authors

**[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)** Wrote version 1.0
