Hands on clay: notes for an approach to the materiality of cuneiform writing

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the relationship between the materiality of writing and the cuneiform writing system in ancient Mesopotamia. To this end, it will first look at the traditional approaches to the analyses of texts, from the “linguistic model” and its derivatives, and how they contributed to the dematerialization of writing by prioritizing the written message over the written material. Then, it will discuss the concepts of material and materiality, considering the conditions for existence and material properties of inscribed objects, as well as the material relations that enable the act of writing. Finally, from more recent analytical approaches in material culture studies that assign a more active role to materiality in structuring social relations, this study examines the relationship between subjects, objects, and the environments in which they are inserted through two case studies. The first one looks at clay tablets in administrative relations, problematizing the understanding of tablets as supports or vehicles for messages. The second case study explores alternatives for conceptualizing the dynamic relationship among materiality, text, and image in palace wall reliefs.

KEYWORDS:
Materiality of writing; Cuneiform; Mesopotamia