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While there is some debate on who is the oldest named person on record, for the most part, many researchers agree that Kushim is the oldest known name in the world, dating back to around 3400 to 3000 BCE. Surprisingly, Kushim wasn’t a king or ruler, they were an accountant. All of the tablets baring Kushim’s name appear to be accounting ...
So our first contender for the first named individual in history is an accountant. The record in question was inscribed on a clay tablet using a reed stylus sometime between 3300-3000 BC. It is written in symbols and pictograms, which we can translate by comparison to later, similar, cuneiform systems whose meaning we know.
Aug 19, 2015 · Editor’s Note: This post has updated to clarify a sentence about the gender of the ancient writer. “It’s me!” they’d say, and they’d leave a sign. Leave it on the cave wall. Maybe as a ...
- Robert Krulwich
Aug 20, 2015 · WORLD The first name in recorded history isn’t a king. Or a warrior. Or a poet. He was an accountant, Kushim. (National Geographic Phenomena) Use our resources to learn more about ancient civilizations. Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit, including a link to today’s simple MapMaker Interactive…
The idea that the earliest known individual was an accountant is consistent with what we know about the early development of written language. As the societies of the Ancient Near East grew in economic complexity – with trade between cities and the complex resource flows associated with manufacturing – some means of recording transactions and balances become essential.
Kushim (Sumerian: 𒆪𒋆 KU.ŠIM) is supposedly the earliest known recorded name of a person in writing. The name "Kushim" is found on several Uruk period (c. 3400–3000 BC) clay tablets used to record transactions of barley. It is uncertain if the name refers to an individual, a generic title of an officeholder, or an institution.
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Oct 25, 2022 · A new book tells the history of the ancient world through women and what they had to say about their own sexuality – flying in the face of misogynist male stereotypes. 11 Jun 2024 Culture
