# Phonetic spelling begins at Archaic Ur, c. 2900 BC

> Still possible: Secure phonetic spelling begins in the Archaic Ur texts of about 2900 to 2700 BC, mainly in personal names; Uruk IV has none and Uruk III…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEE99VTJW8C/phonetic-spelling-begins-at-archaic-ur-c-2900-bc  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)[When and how did phonetic spelling begin in Mesopotamian writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT8N8Y2GZ/when-and-how-did-phonetic-spelling-begin-in-mesopotamian)Answer

Answer · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

# Phonetic spelling begins at Archaic Ur, c. 2900 BC

Secure phonetic spelling begins in the Archaic Ur texts of about 2900 to 2700 BC, mainly in personal names; Uruk IV has none and Uruk III at most a few plausible cases.

**Still possible** Answers **1** question0

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, one against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- No proposed Uruk IV phonetic spelling will survive a context check.
- The density of phonetic spellings will rise from Uruk III to Archaic Ur to Fara, concentrated in personal names.

## What would rule it out

- A secure phonetic spelling in a dated Uruk IV text.
- Several secure, independently confirmed phonetic spellings across Uruk III administrative texts.

## Evidence 1 for · 1 against

[Reviews of the proposed early rebus spellings find no secure Uruk IV case, and the first secure syllabic signs appear…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9FRYCC0C/reviews-of-the-proposed-early-rebus-spellings-find-no-secure)

Supported

FOR

[Proponents of a Sumerian reading cite a handful of Uruk III sign uses as rebus spellings, which would push phonetic…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9GGPD7HF/proponents-of-a-sumerian-reading-cite-a-handful-of-uruk-iii)

Speculative

AGAINST

## The questions it answers

[When and how did phonetic spelling begin in Mesopotamian writing?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT8N8Y2GZ/when-and-how-did-phonetic-spelling-begin-in-mesopotamian)

OpenNo answer ahead yet

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Phonetic spelling begins at Archaic Ur, c. 2900 BC [Answer ANS0DEE99VTJW8C]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEE99VTJW8C
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEE99VTJW8C

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Version

1

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Every record is open data. Take this one as JSON, with its links and its history.

[JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/api/v1/records/ANS0DEE99VTJW8C)