# The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their…

> The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their later copies.

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEE9HZ18XJ2/the-archaic-lists-were-transmitted-in-fixed-order-for-about  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)Evidence

Evidence · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

# The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their…

The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their later copies.

Supported0

## What it means

Key question[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)

No answer ahead yet

**Open** was No evidence yet

Answer this evidence bears on[Sign sequences carry back; word identity is unproven](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEE9A871191/sign-sequences-carry-back-word-identity-is-unproven)

Supports1 for, none against

**Still possible** unchanged

## Next steps 1

1

From the DCCLT composites, align each archaic Professions-list and Tribute-list entry with its Old Babylonian reading and score whether the reading is explicable from the archaic sign's picture or administrative use; compare the score distribution with a shuffled baseline.

~16 h

[On: 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)

**—** not judged

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

## Sources 4

[DCCLT: Digital Corpus of Cuneiform Lexical Texts, archaic lexical lists](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDKGX20MPZ/dcclt-digital-corpus-of-cuneiform-lexical-texts-archaic)

Veldhuis

SRC

[Die lexikalischen Listen der archaischen Texte aus Uruk (ATU 3)](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHQWE5Q1C/die-lexikalischen-listen-der-archaischen-texte-aus-uruk-atu)

Englund 1993

SRC

[Remarks on AD-GI4 (a.k.a. "Archaic Word List C" or "Tribute")](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK8AJ0N8X/remarks-on-ad-gi4-a-k-a-archaic-word-list-c-or-tribute)

Civil 2013

SRC

[The Sumerian Question: Reviewing the Issues](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHQE9W64H/the-sumerian-question-reviewing-the-issues)

Whittaker 2005

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The archaic lists were transmitted in fixed order for about 1,300 years and acquire Sumerian readings only in their… [Evidence EVD0DEE9HZ18XJ2]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE9HZ18XJ2
```

Key

**EVD** 0DEE9HZ18XJ2

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Supported

Version

1

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