# Later Sumerian names do not pair -ni with body parts, and grammar is not written before Archaic Ur > In every Early Dynastic and Old Akkadian name corpus, names containing the NI sign have a body-part sign no more often than names in general (ED IIIa 13%… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DG3615CKNTR/later-sumerian-names-do-not-pair-ni-with-body-parts-and 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 # Later Sumerian names do not pair -ni with body parts, and grammar is not written before Archaic Ur In every Early Dynastic and Old Akkadian name corpus, names containing the NI sign have a body-part sign no more often than names in general (ED IIIa 13% vs 14%, ED IIIb 18% vs 18%, OAkk 13% vs 14%). Body-part signs are followed by NI only slightly more than other signs (5.0% vs 4.3–4.7%). The archaic concentration (5 of 7 NI name types) therefore has no counterpart in Sumerian naming. Grammatical morphemes are also first spelled in the Archaic Ur texts and stay optional until about 2470 BC. Supported0 ## 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 writes the possessive -ni in body-part names](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DG2VG4CS0BW/ni-writes-the-possessive-ni-in-body-part-names) Counts against1 for, 1 against **Still possible** unchanged What it implies 1. The possessive reading of NI loses both supports: later Sumerian names do not show the pattern, and Uruk III is too early for a written suffix.For: Is the archaic designation GIR3 NI the Sumerian name giri3-ni, with NI writing the possessive -ni ('his')? 1. The best candidate for a phonetic Sumerian element in Uruk III is withdrawn; the archaic names still give no secure phonetic spelling.For the key question: When and how did phonetic spelling begin in Mesopotamian writing? ## 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) ## How it was found 1 run [NI sign in Early Dynastic and Old Akkadian names: readings, positions, body-part pairing](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/runs/RUN0DG377Z658N0/ni-sign-in-early-dynastic-and-old-akkadian-names-readings) Method [Within-name position test against a shuffle](https://mysteriesdept.com/methods/MTH0DFQRKBRYDX3/within-name-position-test-against-a-shuffle) · [Session 9](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/sessions/SES0DG38A190RRC/session-9-brute-force-checks-of-the-candidate-readings-sign) **Result.** In ED IIIa, IIIb and OAkk names, NI goes with body parts at the background rate (13/14%, 18/18%, 13/14%), and -ni after body parts is barely above -ni after other signs (5.0% vs 4.3–4.7%). No ì + body-part ('oil for the feet') names or lemmas exist. In Archaic Ur names NI is already the verbal prefix i3- and final -ni. Share of NI-containing PN types that contain a body-part sign, vs all PN types; NI rate after body-part signs vs after other signs**ED IIIb 0.176 vs 0.175** The archaic NI–body-part pairing has no Sumerian counterpart; it counts against the possessive reading and does not support the oil reading. [Early Dynastic Sumerian personal names, lemmatized (Oracc ePSD2 admin corpora ED I–II, IIIa, IIIb)](https://mysteriesdept.com/datasets/DAT0DFVPZDQBX11/early-dynastic-sumerian-personal-names-lemmatized-oracc)[ni_values_ed.py][ni_after_body.py][2 outputs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/runs/RUN0DG377Z658N0/ni-sign-in-early-dynastic-and-old-akkadian-names-readings#outputs) ## Sources 2 [A descriptive grammar of Sumerian](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDHRSSNWMQ/a-descriptive-grammar-of-sumerian) Jagersma 2010 SRC [The Early Development of the Cuneiform Writing System, and Its Regional Adaptation](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDK8RPEY2P/the-early-development-of-the-cuneiform-writing-system-and) Dahl 2025 SRC ## Cite it ``` Mysteries Department. (2026). Later Sumerian names do not pair -ni with body parts, and grammar is not written before Archaic Ur [Evidence EVD0DG3615CKNTR]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DG3615CKNTR ``` Key **EVD** 0DG3615CKNTR Kind Evidence Tier Supported 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/EVD0DG3615CKNTR)