# Is KU.ŠIM ('Kushim') in the Uruk III barley accounts a person's name or an office? · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk > Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-11-03T05:53:54+00:00 --- **0** # Is KU.ŠIM ('Kushim') in the Uruk III barley accounts a person's name or an office? Asked 3 Nov 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·Part of [Do the roughly 440 personal names in the archaic texts follow Sumerian, Semitic or some other naming pattern?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDTDFDF2VV/do-the-roughly-440-personal-names-in-the-archaic-texts)·2 answers·0·0 following **Two answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Two answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Two are still possible. ## Why it matters Kushim is popularly called the first recorded person's name, but Nissen, Damerow and Englund left open whether it names a person, an office or an institution. Settling it would fix one name the field (and the public) cites, and test whether names and titles can be told apart in these accounts at all. ## Answers 2 [**A person** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DG364FTTKN7/a-person) Evidence for it, no test yet Evidence: 1 for Still possible [**An office or institution** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DG364W3RVNJ/an-office-or-institution) Not tested yet Evidence: none yet Still possible ## Next steps 2 1 Slot test: what fills the SANGA + X slot Could shiftFair odds~2 h **17** score Details Collect every Uruk III entry with SANGA and one other sign group. If the other groups are mostly marked names, Kushim in that slot is a name; if they are mostly institutions or goods, it is an office or unit. 2 Read the Kushim tablets' headers and totals Adds evidencePoor odds · needs a person~4 h **3** score Details Do a close reading of the MSVO 3 Kushim tablets (photos on CDLI). If KU.ŠIM stands where seal-holders or responsible persons stand, it is a person; if it stands where institutions or recipients stand, it is an office. Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes ## History 1. 1998[Robert K. Englund: kushim: confined to one archive, absent from the title lists, often written beside SANGA](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDGX6K5549/texts-from-the-late-uruk-period)For: A person 1. Nov 2026[Session 9: raised the question, proposed two answers, ran one test and found one result bearing on its answers](https://mysteriesdept.com/records/SES0DG38A190RRC/session-9-brute-force-checks-of-the-candidate-readings-sign) ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG361XDYRE2/is-ku-sim-kushim-in-the-uruk-iii-barley-accounts-a-persons%23add-source) Where it fits Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk [**Do the roughly 440 personal names in the archaic texts follow Sumerian, Semitic or some other naming pattern?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDTDFDF2VV/do-the-roughly-440-personal-names-in-the-archaic-texts)5 answers, inconclusive [Does the name entry EN AN E2 on MS 3035 (P006268, obv. i 1.b09) contain the divine name Enlil, written as in Early Dynastic {d}en-lil2?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DG2T5DJKG28/does-the-name-entry-en-an-e2-on-ms-3035-p006268-obv-i-1-b09)Open · 2 answers, inconclusive **Is KU.ŠIM ('Kushim') in the Uruk III barley accounts a person's name or an office?** You're here · 2 answers, inconclusive [ Ask a question under this one ]