Niek Veldhuis Associate Professor of Assyriology Department of Near Eastern Studies UC Berkeley 280 Barrows Hall #1940 Berkeley, CA 94720-1940 510-642-6175 veldhuis@berkeley.edu
Teaching:      Cuneiform languages (Sumerian, Akkadian);                        History, Religions, and Cultures of Ancient Mesopotamia Research:      History of Education and Lexicography in Ancient Mesopotamia;                      Sumerian language Publications Awards:        Guggenheim Fellowship 2005                      see UC Berkeley News
Ancient Mesopotamia was the birthplace of writing. Writing was invented around 3200 BCE in the city of Uruk, in the deep South of what is now Iraq. The earliest writing system is called cuneiform, or "nail-formed writing" after the latin word cuneus (nail). The signs are drawn with a reed pen in soft clay, which is then dried in the sun. Such clay tablets are almost indestructible and have been found by archaeologists all over the Near East.
(click for larger picture)
	HMA 9-2616 Monthly account of grain deliveries to various individuals at the "quay of the General." Grand total: 1782 liters of grain. Month: Festival of Šulgi (= Month 10) Year when the boat of Enki was made. The tablet dates to the Ur III period (about 2050 BCE) and comes from the city of Umma. Archives from this period have yielded tens of thousands of documents. Each year had a name, referring to an important event in the year before (see year names). "Year when the boat of Enki was made" is the second regnal year of king Šu-Su'en. The tablet now belongs to the collection of the Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley. Administrative tablets, such as the one above, reveal much about the social, political, and economic history of the area. Literary texts, hymns, and prayers give access to the ideologies and the religious ideas and practices that were current more than 4,000 years ago. Translations of a large collection of Sumerian literary texts are on line at the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL).
Teaching: At the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Berkeley you can learn how to read cuneiform texts in Sumerian and Akkadian. In a two-year cycle we alternate Elementary Akkadian (Cuneiform 100A/B) and Elementary Sumerian (Cuneiform 102A/B), where the basics of the two languages are taught by Professor Niek Veldhuis and Dr. Laurie Pearce. In Selected Readings in Sumerian (Cuneiform 103A/B) and Selected Readings in Akkadian (Cuneiform 101A/B) we deepen our knowledge of grammar, vocabulary, and cuneiform, while at the same exploring the wonderful world of Mesopotamia by reading ancient texts.
Other Courses: Gilgameš: King, Hero, and God (NES 113) Mesopotamian History (NES 109) Babylonian Religion (NES C104) Mesopotamian Literature (NES 105)
	Gilgameš in Sumerian cuneiform
Research Projects:
	The main research project of the Cuneiform Studies program at Berkeley is the Digital Corpus of Cuneiform Lexical Texts (DCCLT). The aim of this project is to publish on the web all lexical lists from Ancient Mesopotamia. Lexical lists are comparable to modern dictionaries and played an important role in the education of scribes and in the intellectual life of the period (see: What is a Lexical List?). Lexical lists were introduced with the invention of writing (ca. 3200 BCE) and continued to be used until the demise of cuneiform in the beginning of our era. The image to the left is a drawing of a fragment of one of the earliest such lists, the list of Vessels. DCCLT partners with similar projects in the Cuneiform Digital Library Group (CDL), adhering to strict standards of data formatting. The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) at UCLA, hosts the catalogue and the images. The lexical data produced by DCCLT are directly incorporated into the electronic Pennsylvania Sumerian Dictionary (PSD).
Funding for the DCCLT project has been provided by the Hellman Family Fund, the NEH, the Committee on Research (UC Berkeley), the American Philosophical Society, and private donors. A book-length study on the history of Mesopotamian lexicography is currently in preparation and will appear in the series Guides to Mesopotamian Textual Record, published by Ugarit-Verlag (Münster, Germany). List of Publications By Professor Niek Veldhuis, UC Berkeley 1. Monographs: 2004 Religion, Literature, and Scholarship: The Sumerian Composition Nanše and the Birds. With a Catalogue of Sumerian Bird Names. Cuneiform Monographs 22. Leiden: Brill Publications. 1997     Elementary Education at Nippur. The Lists of Trees and Wooden Objects. Doctoral dissertation, University of Groningen 1991     A Cow of Sîn. Library of Oriental Texts 2. Groningen: Styx Publications. 2. Edited Volume 2006     With Piotr Michalowski, Approaches to Sumerian Literature. Studies in Honour of Stip (H.L.J. Vanstiphout). Cuneiform Monographs 35. Leiden: Brill Publications. 3. Articles: 2006     Divination: Theory and Use. Pp. 487-497 in Ann K. Guinan, Maria de J. Ellis, A. J. Ferrara, Sally M. Freedman, Matthew T. Rutz, Leonhard Sassmannshausen, Steve Tinney, and M. W. Waters (eds.), If a Man Builds a Joyful House: Assyriological Studies in Honor of Erle Verdun Leichty,  Leiden: Brill 2006             How did they Learn Cuneiform? “Tribute/Word List C” as an Elementary Exercise. Pp. 181-200 in Piotr Michalowski and Niek Veldhuis (eds.), Approaches to Sumerian Literature in Honour of Stip (H.L.J. Vanstiphout), Leiden: Brill 2006.             How to Classify Pigs: Old Babylonian and Middle Babylonian Lexical Texts. Pp. 25-29 in Cécile Michel and Brigitte Lion (eds.), De la domestication au tabou : le cas des suidés dans le Proche-Orient ancien, Paris 2006. 2005     Lexical Bits and Pieces. Pp. 311-321 in Yitschak Sefati, Pinhas Artzi, Chaim Cohen,  Barry L. Eichler, and Victor A. Hurowitz (eds.) "An Experienced Scribe Who Neglects Nothing" Ancient Near Eastern Studies In Honor Of Jacob Klein, Bethesda, MD: CDL Press 2005.             Grammatical Texts in their Intellectual Contexts. Acta Sumerologica 22 (2000), 227-247 [appeared 2005]. 2003     Sumerian Literature. Pp.29-43 in: Gillis Dorleijn and Herman L.J. Vanstiphout: Cultural Repertories. Structure, Function and Dynamics. Louvain: Peeters 2003. Cuneiform Tablets at the Groningen Institute for Semitics. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 93 (2003), 53-69.             Mesopotamian Canons. Pp. 9-28 in Margalit Finkelberg and Christoph Markschies (eds.). Homer, the Bible, and Beyond: Literary and Religious Canons in the Ancient World, leiden: Brill 2003 .             with H. Hilprecht †, Model Texts and Exercises from the Temple School of Nippur: BE 19. In: Archiv für Orientforschung 50 (2003/2004),  28-49. 2002     Studies in Sumerian Vocabulary: dnin-ka6; immal/šilam; and še21.d. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 54. 2001 A Multiple Month Account from the Gu'abba Rest House. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 91, 85-109 The Solution of the Dream: A New Interpretation of Bilgames’ Death. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 53 (2001), 133-148. 2000     Sumerian Proverbs in their Curricular Context. Journal of the American Oriental Society 120, 383-399. Kassite Exercises: Literary and Lexical Extracts. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 52, 67-94. 1999     LÚ ^gišŠÀ.TAR in Ur III. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 19, 20.             Reading the Signs. in H.L.J.Vanstiphout, W.J. van Bekkum, G.J.H. van Gelder, and G.J. Reinink (eds.), All Those Nations..., Cultural Encounters within and with the Near East. Groningen: Styx Publications, 161-174.             Continuity and Change in the Mesopotamian Lexical Tradition. in B. Roest and H.L.J. Vanstiphout (eds.), Aspects of Genre and Type in Pre-Modern Literary Cultures. Groningen: Styx Publications, 101-118.             The Poetry of Magic. In T. Abusch and K. van der Toorn (eds.), Mesopotamian Magic: Textual, Historical, and Interpretative Perspectives. Ancient Magic and Divination 1. Groningen: Styx Publications, 35-48.             Leren Lezen en Schrijven in Nippur. Phoenix 45, 30-41. 1998     TIN.TIR = Babylon, the Question of Canonisation, and the Production of Meaning. Journal of Cuneiform Studies 50, 77-85.             A Late Old Babylonian Proto-Kagal/Nigga Text and the Nature of the Acrographic Lexical Series. Acta Sumerologica 20, 201-216. 1997     with J. Oelsner (Jena): Ein keilschriftliches Palimpsest. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 87, 219-221.             The Sur9-priest, the Instrument ^gišAl-gar-sur9, and the Forms and Uses of a Rare Sign.  Archiv für Orientforschung 44/45, 115-128. 1996     On Interpreting Mesopotamian Namburbi Rituals. Archiv für Orientforschung 42/43, 145-154.             The Cuneiform Tablet as an Educational Tool. Dutch Studies on Near Eastern Languages and Cultures  2, 11-26.             A Nippur Emesal Vocabulary. Acta Sumerologica 18, 229-234.             On a Ritual for opening a Well in Šumma Alu 17 (CTN IV 156+160+161+162). Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 117, 104-105.             The Ugarit Lexical Text RS 13.53 (PRU III, Planche X). Welt des Orients 27, 25-29. 1995     with H.L.J. Vanstiphout: tuppi ilani takaltu pirišti šamê u ersetim. Annali  55, 30-32. 1994     A Tablet Recovered and a Missing Barrel of Beer. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 64, 55-56. 1993     An Ur III Incantation against the Bite of a Snake, a Scorpion, or a Dog. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie 83, 161-169.             The Fly, the Worm, and the Chain. Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica 24, 41-61. 1992     Comments on IGI-HUL. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 43, 33-34. 1991     On the Reading of GISSU in Ophthalmological Context. Nouvelles Assyriologiques Brèves et Utilitaires 106, 74-76. 1990     The Heartgrass and Related Matters. Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica 21, 27-44. 1989     The New Assyrian Compendium for a Woman in Childbirth. Acta Sumerologica 11, 239-260. 1987     Geschiedenis van de Joden in Harderwijk. Studia Rosenthaliana 21, 73-92. Reprint in: Historisch Jaarboek Harderwijk 1994, 5-24. 3a. Articles in Press:             Guardians of Tradition. Early Dynastic Lexical Texts in Old Babylonian Copies. In Your Praise is Sweet. A memorial volume presented to Jeremy Allen Black by colleagues, students, and friends, Heather Baker, Eleanor Robson, and Gabor Zólyomi (eds.). 4. Reviews: 2005     Markus Hilgert, Cuneiform Texts from the Ur III Period in the Oriental Institute Volume 2. Drehem Administrative Documents from the Reign of Amar-Suena. OIP 121. Chicago, IL 2003. In: Orientalia Nova Series 74 (2005), 116-119. 2002     E. Flückiger-Hawker, Urnamma of Ur in Sumerian Literary Tradition. Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis 166. Fribourg 1999. Journal of the American Oriental Society 122, 127-130.             G. Cunningham, Religion and Magic. Approaches and Theories. Edinburgh 1999. In Archiv für Orientforschung 48/49 (2001/2002), 226-228.             Petra D. Gesche, Schulunterricht in Babylonien im ersten Jahrtausend v. Chr.. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, 2000. In: Journal of the American Oriental Society 123 (2003), 627-633. 1999 S. Parpola, The Standard Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh (State Archives of Assyria Cuneiform Texts, Vol. 1). Helsinki 1997, Bibliotheca Orientalis 56, 388-392. V.A. Hurowitz, Divine Service and its Rewards. Ideology and Poetics in the Hinke Kudurru (Beer-Sheva, Vol. X). Jerusalem 1997, Bibliotheca Orientalis 56, 680-685. 1998     G. Cunningham, "Deliver Me from Evil" Mesopotamian Incantations 2500-1500 BC (Studia Pohl Series Maior 17). Rome 1997, Bibliotheca Orientalis 55, 850-852. 1997     E. Reiner, Astral Magic in Babylonia. Philadelphia 1995,  Archiv für Orientforschung 44/45, 417-419.             A. Cavigneaux, Uruk. Altbabylonische Texte aus dem Planquadrat Pe XVI-4/5. Nach Kopien von Adam Falkenstein. Mit einem Beitrag von Rainer Michael Boehmer (AUWE 23). Mainz 1996, Archiv für Orientforschung 44/45, 360-363. 1995     R.K. Englund and H.J. Nissen, Die lexikalischen Listen der archaischen Texte aus Uruk (ATU 3). Berlin 1993, Bibliotheca Orientalis 52, 433-440. 5.  Electronic Publications: 2006     Another Early Dynastic Incantation. In: Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2006:2 http://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdlb/2006/cdlb2006_002.html 2004     HI-(še3) la2. In: Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2004:4 http://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdlb/2004/cdlb2004_004.html 2003     The Digital Corpus of Cuneiform Lexical Texts http://cuneiform.ucla.edu/dcclt             Cuneiform Tablets in the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, UC Berkeley. http://cdli.ucla.edu/collections/hearst/hearst_intro.html             Entering the netherworld. In Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin 2003:6. http://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdlb/2003/cdlb2003_006.html             The Sumerian Word na-IZI. In Cuneiform Digital Library Notes 2003: 002. http://cdli.ucla.edu/pubs/cdln/archives/000001.html 2001     A bal-bal-e to Nanše (Nanše B) http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.4.14.2 2000     Nanše and the Birds (Nanše C) http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.4.14.3             A Hymn to Inana (Inana F) http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.4.07.6