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Mesopotamian Orality and the Anthropology of Writing

Project description

A closer look at Ancient Mesopotamian literacy and orality

In Ancient Mesopotamia, the interplay between writing and orality remains elusive. Despite the rich tapestry of cuneiform texts, many aspects of the oral world have been lost to time. The ERC-funded MesOr project tackles this by mapping what was recorded in writing versus what remained oral, exploring why. By establishing a comprehensive model of these dynamics, MesOr aims to illuminate not only Mesopotamian society, but also provide insights into other ancient cultures with limited documentation. Through a blend of traditional philology and innovative quantitative analysis, the project will address questions like the absence of cuneiform graffiti and unexplored aspects of written traditions, offering new perspectives on ancient literacy and orality.

Objective

This project seeks to understand the interplay between writing and orality in Ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3400 BCE AD 100): what was written down, what circulated only in the oral realm, aThis project seeks to understand the interplay between writing and orality in Ancient Mesopotamia (c. 3400 BCE AD 100): what was written down, what circulated only in the oral realm, and why. The result will be a cohesive model of orality and writing in Ancient Mesopotamia, which will in turn shed light on ancient societies with less documentation, enabling a much-needed leap forward in the study of ancient writing and orality beyond Mesopotamia alone. It will also open up a new sub-field within Mesopotamian studies, and offer new ways of thinking about Mesopotamian writings.

MESORs goals will be met by three work packages.

First, it aims to establish the facts about what sort of things were usually written down, and what sort of things were not; and about how this varied across time, place, context, and type of written document.

Secondly, the project aims to interpret and explain the distribution which it identified. To take some simple examples: Why are there no cuneiform graffiti? Why do cuneiform sources hardly mention begging? What did and did not get embraced by the written tradition? The project will be the first time such questions are addressed in an organic and systematic way. Use will be made of wide-ranging ethnographic parallels.

Thirdly, the project will work out the implications and applications of its findings. These extend across all aspects of the lived experience, from administration to education to religion.

The projects methods will unite traditional close reading with corpus-driven quantitative data analysis, and its investigation will transcend established disciplinary boundaries: it will combine Akkadian and Sumerian philology, the anthropology of reading and writing, the history of literacy studies, orality studies, and socio-cultural history.

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HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG

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Host institution

THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD, OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 2 499 793,00
Address
COLLEGE GREEN TRINITY COLLEGE
D02 CX56 Dublin
Ireland

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Region
Ireland Eastern and Midland Dublin
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 499 793,00

Beneficiaries (1)

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