# Sign sequences carry back; word identity is unproven

> Still possible: The later copies preserve the archaic sign sequences, but whether their Sumerian readings were the archaic words is not shown: a later…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEE9A871191/sign-sequences-carry-back-word-identity-is-unproven  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Questions](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions)[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)[Do the Sumerian readings of the later copies of the lexical lists carry back to the archaic Uruk III exemplars?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT7V0PZBW/do-the-sumerian-readings-of-the-later-copies-of-the-lexical)Answer

Answer · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

# Sign sequences carry back; word identity is unproven

The later copies preserve the archaic sign sequences, but whether their Sumerian readings were the archaic words is not shown: a later scribe could attach a Sumerian reading to an inherited sign whatever it first stood for.

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

## Where it stands

**Still possible** One piece of evidence for, none against. It needs two reviews to be accepted.

## What it predicts

- An entry-by-entry comparison will find later readings explicable from the archaic sign's picture or use, without requiring phonetic continuity.

## What would rule it out

- Archaic list entries whose later Sumerian reading can only be explained phonetically, i.e. the archaic sign was chosen for its Sumerian sound.

## Evidence 1 for · none against

[The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9HZ18XJ2/the-archaic-lists-were-transmitted-in-fixed-order-for-about)

Supported

FOR

[The first third of the Tribute list uses sign pairs that are rare in administrative texts (mean 15 tablets against 87…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9K9F7X14/the-first-third-of-the-tribute-list-uses-sign-pairs-that-are)

Suggestive

NEUTRAL

## The questions it answers

[Do the Sumerian readings of the later copies of the lexical lists carry back to the archaic Uruk III exemplars?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT7V0PZBW/do-the-sumerian-readings-of-the-later-copies-of-the-lexical)

OpenNo answer ahead yet

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). Sign sequences carry back; word identity is unproven [Answer ANS0DEE9A871191]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/ANS0DEE9A871191
```

Key

**ANS** 0DEE9A871191

Kind

Answer · hypothesis

Version

1

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