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History / Ancient civilizations / Grade 5 / ha5r1

Clay Records: What Can We Conclude?

Separate the writing material from the script, then test what two invented records support.

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First name the material, then the writing system. Read each recorded action separately. A receipt and a dispatch are movements, not a complete inventory unless starting stock and all other movements are known. Look for independent evidence instead of counting a copied statement twice.

Worked example

In a different invented account, 6 baskets arrive and 2 leave. The difference is 4. If 3 baskets were already there, the final stock could be 7. The two movements alone do not establish the final stock.

Invented Note A records 8 jars received on Monday. Note B records 3 jars sent on Tuesday. Starting stock and other movements are unknown. A third card is only a copy of A.
Original practice model, not an artifact or translation. Recorded movements are not a full stock count.

Two Invented Storehouse Notes

Historical background: clay tablets often carried cuneiform, a wedge-shaped writing system used for different languages. The following English notes are invented practice records, not translations of ancient tablets. Note A says 8 jars arrived on Monday. Note B says 3 jars left on Tuesday. The starting stock, other movements, writer and number of people who could write are unknown. A later card copies Note A word for word; it supplies no separate observation.

Question 1 Which label names the material that commonly carried the writing?
Question 2 What does cuneiform name?
Question 3 What activities do A and B record?
Question 4 Do the notes establish that exactly 5 jars remained?
Question 5 Does the later copy independently confirm the delivery in A?