Welcome, new Tweeps! I know you came for the dogs, which I am totally here for, but I hope you stay for the cuneiform because the world it reveals is full of humanity and wonder (and sometimes also dogs).

This is a 4,000-year-old mud brick from the ziggurat in the ancient city of Ur in Iraq, stamped with a cuneiform inscription that mentions king Ur-Nammu.

The brick also immortalises the paw prints of a very good doggo who walked over it before it dried.

Gula, a healing goddess from ancient Mesopotamia, appears in visual imagery, like cylinder seals and small monuments, sometimes holding a scalpel and a circular object that might be a bandage.

At her side is her loyal dog, an animal associated with healing.

If you wanted to invite the wrath of the ancient Mesopotamian healing goddess Gula, one sure-fire way was to neglect a wounded dog https://twitter.com/moudhy/status/1165906648487079936?s=21 https://twitter.com/Moudhy/status/1165906648487079936

In the Old Babylonian period (c2000-1600 BCE), people used to mass produce little clay plaques that showed everyday scenes, from breastfeeding to boxing matches.

Some of these also show dogs. Dogs with their owners. Dogs on leads. Dogs with puppies.

A Neo-Assyrian relief from the 7th century BCE found in a palace at Nineveh, Iraq shows handlers with dogs as part of a hunting scene.

Dogs helped with everything from hunting to healing (...alongside less appealing tasks like sanitation).

Looking for a dog name? Look no further than Akkadian cuneiform inscriptions on little clay dog figurines from the 7th century BCE, found in a palace at Nineveh, Iraq.

dan rigiššu “loud is his bark”

munaššiku gārîšu “biter of his foe”

mušēṣi lemnūti “expeller of evil”

In conclusion, dogs are the best and always have been. Cuneiform is awesome. And thanks for being here.

I don’t know about Sanskrit, but the š is “sh” and the s with a dot (which I can’t do on my phone) is a tsade so “ts”