Run · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

Sumerian benchmark: the same element test on Early Dynastic names (Oracc ePSD2)

Readings are mapped to sign names through the OGSL index, so the Early Dynastic and archaic tests use the same signs. Early Dynastic names are spelled with more signs (2.2–3.1 against 1.9), which the length-matched null absorbs.

Result

Run	Measured	Result	Against	Decision	Date
Run	Share of names containing at least one of Englund's elements against a length-matched null; token odds ratio with a text-cluster bootstrap	{'ED_I-II': {'names': 326, 'or_95': [4.66, 7.12], 'observed': 0.402, 'odds_ratio': 5.84, 'null_median': 0.089}, 'ED_IIIa': {'names': 11799, 'or_95': [4.71, 5.01], 'observed': 0.465, 'odds_ratio': 4.86, 'null_median': 0.14}, 'ED_IIIb': {'names': 31083, 'or_95': [4.39, 4.55], 'observed': 0.528, 'odds_ratio': 4.47, 'null_median': 0.184}, 'Uruk_III_archaic': {'names': 540, 'or_95': [1.09, 1.6], 'observed': 0.124, 'odds_ratio': 1.35, 'null_median': 0.098}}	Each corpus's own non-proper-noun lemmatized words (ED) or non-name administrative entries (Uruk III)	The Sumerian name corpora are enriched three- to four-and-a-half-fold in every period, and the archaic names are not. This meets the kill criterion of H-NAMES-SUMERIAN: the archaic names do not have a Sumerian onomastic profile.

What it used and found

Name-element enrichment against a corpus baseline

Method

MTH

Archaic personal names in proto-cuneiform (editor-marked, CDLI)

Dataset

DAT

Early Dynastic Sumerian personal names, lemmatized (Oracc ePSD2 admin corpora ED I–II, IIIa, IIIb)

Dataset

DAT

The names favour Sumerian name elements

Answer it tests

ANS

Genuine Sumerian names carry these elements three to four times as often as the archaic names

Evidence it produced

EVD

The Sumerian name profile is absent in Uruk III and fully present by Archaic Ur, as this answer predicts

Evidence it produced

EVD

Figures 1

Figure 1

Real Sumerian names carry the stock name elements four to six times more than chance; the Uruk III names barely do

Token odds ratio of Englund's Sumerian name elements in names against each corpus's other words, with 95% bootstrap intervals; Oracc ePSD2 and CDLI

odds ratio95% low95% high

An odds ratio of 1 means names use the elements no more than ordinary words. The jump falls between Uruk III and Archaic Ur, where the first phonetic name spellings appear.

Drawn by the site

Parameters

nsim = 5000, null = exact per-name probability 1-(1-q)^k, simulated, unit = name instances (types reported too), nboot = 1000, plus_EN = True, elements_OGSL = ['LU₂', 'LUGAL', '|SAL.TUG₂|', 'UR', 'AMAR', '|AMAR×PAP|', 'A', '|GA₂×AN|', '|SAL.KUR|', 'AN', 'MUŠ₃', '|ŠEŠ.KI|']

Cite it

Mysteries Department. (2026). Sumerian benchmark: the same element test on Early Dynastic names (Oracc ePSD2) [Run RUN0DFVQR5WN96F]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/RUN0DFVQR5WN96F

@misc{mysteriesdept_run0dfvqr5wn96f,
  title     = {Sumerian benchmark: the same element test on Early Dynastic names (Oracc ePSD2)},
  author    = {{Mysteries Department}},
  year      = {2026},
  note      = {Run, catalog key RUN0DFVQR5WN96F},
  url       = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/RUN0DFVQR5WN96F}
}