Evidence · Hurrian songs of Ugarit

Bayer's argument that the Ugarit notation was a separate channel from the Mesopotamian tradition leaves room for a…

Bayer's argument that the Ugarit notation was a separate channel from the Mesopotamian tradition leaves room for a local convention not described by the theory tablets.

Speculative0

What it means

Key questionWhat do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?

5 answers, none ahead yet

Openunchanged

Answer this evidence bears onNone of these.

Bears onnone for, none against

Still possiblewas No evidence yet

Next steps 3

Key the notation lines of all ~35 fragments from Laroche, Ugaritica V pp. 462-496 (with Dietrich and Loretz 1975 corrections for h.6), into one CSV of fragment, line, position, Hurrian term, Akkadian equivalent, string pair and numeral, using the string-pair table DAT0DEDTRRNXZCV as the key; reproduce Rahn's 2011 counts as a check.

~12 h

On: What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?

—not judged

Test the numeral readings against a null model: compare the observed distribution of numerals 1 to 10 across all fragments with the distributions expected under repetition counts (geometric-like, no parity preference) and under duple durations (excess of 2 and 4), using a permutation test; report whether Hagel's duration reading beats the repetition reading.

~4 h

On: What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?

—not judged

Count the sung syllables of h.6 from Laroche's transliteration under both rules for the repeated line-end syllables, and compare with the note totals implied by Kilmer's, Duchesne-Guillemin's, West's and Hagel's readings; publish which readings can match under which rule.

~6 h

On: What do the interval names and numerals in the notation of h.6 instruct a performer to play?

—not judged

Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

Sources 1

The Mesopotamian Theory of Music and the Ugarit Notation: a Reexamination

Bayer 2014

SRC

Cite it

Mysteries Department. (2026). Bayer's argument that the Ugarit notation was a separate channel from the Mesopotamian tradition leaves room for a… [Evidence EVD0DEDZ5T6J47Q]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEDZ5T6J47Q

@misc{mysteriesdept_evd0dedz5t6j47q,
  title     = {Bayer's argument that the Ugarit notation was a separate channel from the Mesopotamian tradition leaves room for a…},
  author    = {{Mysteries Department}},
  year      = {2026},
  note      = {Evidence, catalog key EVD0DEDZ5T6J47Q},
  url       = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEDZ5T6J47Q}
}