# The first third of the Tribute list uses sign pairs that are rare in administrative texts (mean 15 tablets against 87…

> The first third of the Tribute list uses sign pairs that are rare in administrative texts (mean 15 tablets against 87 for the final third, p = 0.0005)…

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

The first third of the Tribute list uses sign pairs that are rare in administrative texts (mean 15 tablets against 87 for the final third, p = 0.0005), so the list is not a primer of common signs.

Suggestive0

## 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** unchanged

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)

Bears on1 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 2

[A Quantitative Analysis of Proto-Cuneiform Sign Use in Archaic Tribute](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJQ7HN4AW/a-quantitative-analysis-of-proto-cuneiform-sign-use-in)

Born 2021

SRC

[How Did They Learn Cuneiform? Tribute/Word List C as an Elementary Exercise](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK83AA70B/how-did-they-learn-cuneiform-tribute-word-list-c-as-an)

Veldhuis 2006

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The first third of the Tribute list uses sign pairs that are rare in administrative texts (mean 15 tablets against 87… [Evidence EVD0DEE9K9F7X14]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEE9K9F7X14
```

Key

**EVD** 0DEE9K9F7X14

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Suggestive

Version

1

Added by

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