# Archaic lexical lists use NI as the oil/fat commodity sign > In the Uruk III lexical lists NI occurs mainly in the Vessels and Garments lists (NI alone 42, NI SU 18, HI NI 8, E2 NI SU 7), plus KU3 NI in Metal and… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DG2Z43S52J8/archaic-lexical-lists-use-ni-as-the-oil-fat-commodity-sign Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) --- [Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)Evidence Evidence · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk # Archaic lexical lists use NI as the oil/fat commodity sign In the Uruk III lexical lists NI occurs mainly in the Vessels and Garments lists (NI alone 42, NI SU 18, HI NI 8, E2 NI SU 7), plus KU3 NI in Metal and AN NI in Cities. This fits NI as a commodity logogram for oil or fat (later ì) rather than a grammatical morpheme. Suggestive0 ## What it means Key question[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) No answer ahead yet **Open** unchanged Part of it[Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3) 2 answers, none ahead yet **Open** unchanged Answer this evidence bears on[NI is a logogram; GIR3 NI is a designation](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DG2VQ3K4ZY4/ni-is-a-logogram-gir3-ni-is-a-designation) Supports1 for, 1 against **Still possible** unchanged What it implies 1. The default reading of NI in archaic names should be ì (oil/fat) or a logogram, not the possessive -ni. The possessive reading has to account for the body-part pattern without the lexical lists backing it.For: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')? 1. This slightly weakens the case for grammar being written in archaic names; the central question stays open.For: What language, if any, do the proto-cuneiform texts record? ## Next steps 8 1 Context of counted GIR3 NI entries Could decideGood odds~3 h [On: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3) **49** score Details Read the five non-name GIR3 NI entries (W 22135,0; IM 074298; MS 2427; MS 2443; MSVO 1, 217) in full context and classify each as person, office or commodity. 2 Specialist collation of the NI names Could decideGood odds~6 h [On: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3) **39** score Details Collate on photographs the NI names (P006268, P005573, P006053, P006118, P006182 and the SAG/SZU NI names) and the five counted GIR3 NI entries (W 22135,0; IM 074298; MS 2427; MS 2443; MSVO 1, 217): is the sign NI, does it stand inside the name, and are the counted entries persons? 3 Specialist collation of the NI names Could decideGood odds~6 h [On: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3) **39** score Details Have a specialist check on photographs that NI in P006268, P005573, P006053, P006118, P006182 and the SAG/SZU NI names is the NI sign (not a variant of a similar sign) and stands within the name, and whether the counted GIR3 NI entries at Uruk and Jemdet Nasr are persons. 4 Specialist collation of the NI names Could decideGood odds~6 h [On: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3) **39** score Details Collate the NI names on photographs with a specialist. Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes[All 8 on the question](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T53MFHE9/is-the-archaic-designation-gir3-ni-the-sumerian-name-giri3#next) ## Sources 2 [An archaic "prisoner plaque" from Kiš](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DG2YA3B79XG/an-archaic-prisoner-plaque-from-kis) Steinkeller 2013 SRC [Texts from the Late Uruk Period](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGX6K5549/texts-from-the-late-uruk-period) Englund 1998 SRC ## Cite it ``` Mysteries Department. (2026). Archaic lexical lists use NI as the oil/fat commodity sign [Evidence EVD0DG2Z43S52J8]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DG2Z43S52J8 ``` Key **EVD** 0DG2Z43S52J8 Kind Evidence Tier Suggestive Found in [Session 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/sessions/SES0DG38A190RRC/session-9-brute-force-checks-of-the-candidate-readings-sign) · 3 Nov 2026 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/EVD0DG2Z43S52J8)