Table of Contents
Uruk IV/III metrological systems
Return to Numbers & Metrology in the 4th & 3rd millennium
All the numerical sign files used in these charts are available here (.eps) and here (.jpeg)
Systems used to count discrete objects
Sexagesimal System S
Used to count discrete inanimate objects.
| N8a |  |
| ↓ ×2 or ×10 | |
| N1 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N14 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N34 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N48 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N45 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N50 |  |
Sexagesimal System S'
Used to count certain objects, for example, dead animals from herds and jars of certain types of liquids. See cdli texts using the sexagesimal System S'
| N3 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N18 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N45 |  |
Bi-sexagesimal System B
| N8 | |
| ↓ ×2 | |
| N1 | |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N14 | |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N34 | |
| ↓ ×2 | |
| N51 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N54 |  |
Bi-sexagesimal System B*
System derived from the bisexagesimal system, used to count rations of an unclear nature, possibly a type of fish.
| N6 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N21 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N38 |  |
| ↓ ×2 | |
| N52 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N60 |  |
System used to count measures of area (GAN2 system)
| N8 |  |
| ↓ ×10? | |
| N1 | |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N22 |  |
| ↓ ×3 | |
| N14 | |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N50 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N45 | |
System used to count time (U4 system)
| U4 N8 |  |
| ↓×10 | |
| U4 N14 |  |
| ↓×3 | |
| U4× N1 |  |
EN system
The field of application for this system is unknown.See CDLI texts using the EN system.
| N9 |  | N10 | N11 |  | N12 |  |
|
| ↓ ×? | ↓ ×? | ↓ ×? | ↓ ×? | ||||
| N7 |  | ||||||
| ↓ ×4 | |||||||
| N8 | |
||||||
| ↓ ×2 | |||||||
| N24 |  |
||||||
| ↓ ×2 | |||||||
| N1 | |
||||||
| ↓ ×10 | |||||||
| N14 | |
||||||
Systems used to count measures of capacity
ŠE system Š
| N24 | | N26 |  | N28 |  | N29 |  | N30a |  | N30c |  |
| ↓ ×2 | ↓ ×3 | ↓ ×4 | ↓ ×5 | ↓ ×6 | ↓ ×10 | ||||||
| N39a |  | ||||||||||
| ↓ ×5 | |||||||||||
| N1 | |
||||||||||
| ↓ ×6 | |||||||||||
| N14 | |
||||||||||
| ↓ ×10 | |||||||||||
| N45 |  |
||||||||||
| ↓ ×3 | |||||||||||
| N34 | |
||||||||||
| ↓ ×10 | |||||||||||
| N48 | |
||||||||||
| ↓ ×6 | |||||||||||
| N46 |  |
||||||||||
ŠE system Š'
ŠE system Š'
| N24 | |
| ↓ ×2 | |
| N40 |  |
| ↓ ×5 | |
| N3 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N18 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N45 | |
ŠE system Š"
ŠE system Š"
| N41 |  |
| ↓ ×5 | |
| N4 |  |
| ↓ ×6 | |
| N19 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N46 |  |
| ↓ ×3 | |
| N36 |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N49 |  |
| ↓ ×6? | |
| N46 | |
ŠE system Š*
| N25 |  | N27 |  | N28 | |
| ↓ ×2 | ↓ ×3 | ↓ ×4 | |||
| N42 |  | ||||
| ↓ ×5 | |||||
| N5 |  |
||||
| ↓ ×6 | |||||
| N20 |  |
||||
| ↓ ×10 | |||||
| N47 |  |
||||
| ↓ ×3 | |||||
| N37 |  |
||||
DUGb system
| N1 SILA3a |  |
| ↓ ×10 | |
| N1 DUGb |  |
DUGc system
| N2 |  |
| ↓ ×5 | |
| N1 KU3a |  |
| ↓ ×2 | |
| N1 DUGc |  |
