This dissertation investigates the manner in which animals are treated, respected, and thought about In ancient Mesopotamia. The animals are seen in every level of culture and in a variety of roles. The dissertation tries to unravel how humans thought about animals as seen through Akkadian literature. The Akkadian literature is an excellent source of information since it has a long literary tradition with a conglomeration of text genres providing an opportunity to observe the attitudes, emotions, and beliefs Babylonian and Assyrian cultures had towards wild animals.

A partir de uma avaliação crítica de propostas teóricas voltadas ao estudo histórico da cognição como as apresentadas por Jack Goody e Reviel Netz , este trabalho desenvolve uma possível aproximação entre novos modelos produzidos no campo das ciências cognitivas, em especial modelos de cognição corporalizada (embodied cognition), e as atuais interpretações dos textos matemáticos babilônicos. Propõe possíveis desenvolvimentos dessas interpretações através da identificação de um sistema cognitivo estendido específico da cultura escribal babilônica, fundado no uso de ferramentas cognitivas: as formas de produção da escrita cuneiforme, o repertório textual preservado pela tradição escribal e a própria instituição social escolar da eduba. Neste quadro, os conceitos matemáticos, as formas de percepção e ordenação da realidade material e a cognição escribal sobre o conceito de tempo se revelam dependentes da agência material dos tabletes cuneiformes, das práticas ligadas a eles e da posição social do escriba. / From a critical evaluation of theoretical proposals aimed at the historical study of cognition as those presented by Jack Goody and Reviel Netz this paper explores a possible connection between new models coming from cognitive sciences, particularly \"embodied cognition models, and current interpretations of Babylonian mathematical texts. It proposes possible developments of these interpretations through the recognition of an extended cognitive system, specific of Babylonian scribal culture, based on the use of cognitive tools: forms of production of cuneiform writing, the textual repertoire preserved by scribal tradition and the social institution of the eduba school. In this context, mathematical concepts, forms of perception and ordering of material reality and scribal cognition of the concept of time reveal themselves dependent on the material agency of cuneiform tablets, the practices linked to them and the social position of the scribe.

A partir de uma avaliação crítica de propostas teóricas voltadas ao estudo histórico da cognição como as apresentadas por Jack Goody e Reviel Netz , este trabalho desenvolve uma possível aproximação entre novos modelos produzidos no campo das ciências cognitivas, em especial modelos de cognição corporalizada (embodied cognition), e as atuais interpretações dos textos matemáticos babilônicos. Propõe possíveis desenvolvimentos dessas interpretações através da identificação de um sistema cognitivo estendido específico da cultura escribal babilônica, fundado no uso de ferramentas cognitivas: as formas de produção da escrita cuneiforme, o repertório textual preservado pela tradição escribal e a própria instituição social escolar da eduba. Neste quadro, os conceitos matemáticos, as formas de percepção e ordenação da realidade material e a cognição escribal sobre o conceito de tempo se revelam dependentes da agência material dos tabletes cuneiformes, das práticas ligadas a eles e da posição social do escriba. / From a critical evaluation of theoretical proposals aimed at the historical study of cognition as those presented by Jack Goody and Reviel Netz this paper explores a possible connection between new models coming from cognitive sciences, particularly \"embodied cognition models, and current interpretations of Babylonian mathematical texts. It proposes possible developments of these interpretations through the recognition of an extended cognitive system, specific of Babylonian scribal culture, based on the use of cognitive tools: forms of production of cuneiform writing, the textual repertoire preserved by scribal tradition and the social institution of the eduba school. In this context, mathematical concepts, forms of perception and ordering of material reality and scribal cognition of the concept of time reveal themselves dependent on the material agency of cuneiform tablets, the practices linked to them and the social position of the scribe.

Assyriology as a field of study has long been dominated by the ideas and values of the white, Western men who, during the 19th century, were responsible for the development and growth of all scientific research. This has resulted in a resilient androcentric bias in the discipline, which to this day continues to influence scholarly perceptions of Ancient Mesopotamian society - and particularly of Mesopotamian women. Amongst many other things this includes the application of modern, misogynistic prejudice regarding the female body onto Akkadian women; one such modern concept which, despite recent criticism, is still widely accepted as true, is the notion of ‘menstrual impurity’. By the implementation of standpoint theory - an epistemology which emphasises the influence of a scholar’s own experiences on their perception and interpretation of their field of study - this paper examines the translations of three Akkadian terms which have been used to support the alleged existence of the concept of menstrual impurity in Mesopotamia. The terms are reexamined through an analysis of their etymological and contextual semantics, the results of which are then used comparatively in order to determine the validity of their current translations. The results of this analysis reveal a thoroughly biassed and unscientific interpretation process, which perpetuates the androcentric perspective within the discipline and contributes to the spread of a false image of Ancient Mesopotamian women and their lives. Not only is it highly unlikely that any of the analysed terms actually signify menstruation, but the very notion of ‘impurity’, which is indeed a significant part of the words’ meaning, is interpreted in a modern, stereotypically negative sense that most certainly is not reflective of the Mesopotamian perception of the concept.

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

The purpose of the present thesis is to analyse a particular ritual treatment, the so-called mouth- washing, appearing in diverse rituals of ancient Mesopotamia and its implications for the status of the ritual object treated in this way. Instead of generalizing the function of this element as known from the eponymous Mouth washing ritual for induction of cult images, this thesis considers its employment in all its attested occurrences. The author assumes a strongly metaphorical character of mouth-washing and analyses the concept of purity underlying it. Its shifting significance in different rituals is observed and a typology of these is outlined. A following case study is devoted to the Ritual for covering a kettledrum. A close examination of the sources reveals a possible development of the tradition as well as the ritual's interconnectedness with the Mouth washing ritual. This relation is treated as a case of interrituality, a concept introduced by Burkhard Gladigow. The divine status of the kettledrum is achieved through the ritual for its covering which intentionally employs elements used in the ritual induction of cult images. A special emphasis laid on the kettledrum's status in Seleucid Uruk corresponds with wider socio-historical changes. Methodologically, the offered interpretation rests...

The Mesopotamian inscriptions and collections in ancient Mesopotamia consist of different meanings extended over long time-periods and with social, political, economic and ethnic differences. Scholars in determining whether the texts are an authentic source for Mesopotamian law traditions developed different theories and each of these theories has different variations. In a literature study to obtain if the inscriptions and collections are an authentic source, the different theories and methodologies of the inscriptions and collections were mentioned and the inscriptions and collections were tested in accordance with the characteristics of the Mesopotamian law traditions. Until new interpretation of documents of daily activities and legal activities, which can prove, that these texts are an authentic source, the interpretation of the collections and inscriptions on the legal issues of ancient Mesopotamians must be applied with caution and studied together with the greater corpus of cuneiform texts. / Old Testament and Ancient Near East Studies / M.A. (Ancient Near East Studies)

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The presented master's thesis deals with the Epic of Zimrī-Lîm, a text from the ancient city of Mari from the beginning of the 18th century BC. The text of the epic is included in transliteration (based on the edition by Michaël Guichard from 2014) and in English translation. The epic has also been published online as the first entry of NERE (Near Eastern Royal Epics) project on ORACC (Open Richly Annotated Cuneiform Corpus). In addition to the text itself, the thesis includes a broader historical-cultural commentary. There, selected elements of the ancient text are portraited as well-set within the lived cultural-political environment of the ancient Near East, with particular attention to the time of Zimrī-Lîm. Most of the space is devoted to the religious aspect of the work, especially the role of the deities. Last but not least, the composition is discussed within the context of other royal epics of the ancient Near East. Key Words Zimrī-Lîm, Mari, TellHariri, epic, royal epics, Akkadian literature, narrative, royal ideology, religion, ancient Syria, ancient Mesopotamia, ancient Near East, Middle Bronze Age