Why does the Word "ṯlṯ" ("Three") mean "Copper" in Ugaritic?, E. Cohen-Sasson; J. Yogev; S. Yona (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Bronze Age period's name reflects two important metals of that period, namely copper and tin. These metals became extremely important to Bronze Age societies, and facilitated the development of more efficient technological production systems, and highly developed trade routes. 1 The significance of Ugarit in the Late Bronze trade system is connected to the physical location of the city. Ugarit is situated on an intersection of land-routes from central Asia from where tin was imported, and maritime routes that were connected to the Mediterranean and Cyprus from where copper was imported. Ugarit's part as a mediator of trade of bronze items is crucial for understanding the trade in the Late Bronze Age in the Ancient Near East. 2 It is therefore difficult to comprehend the absence of a unique word to represent copper in the Ugaritic language, which was of considerable importance in the kingdom of Ugarit.
Across Cultures, Across Languages. Interconnectivity in the Late Bronze Age Ugarit (2023)
Diacrítica 37/2, 2023
The spread of cuneiform writing and of the linguistic and literary traditions associated with it represents one of the key moments in the cultural history of the ancient Near East. It is a complex and multi-faceted process that can unquestionably be regarded as an excellent example of cultural transfer. The long duration and the state of preservation of the sources enable us to follow this process as a whole and also to focus on specific aspects. The aim of this article is to identify the significance of cultural transfer in the Akkadian texts of Ugarit, especially in relation to the origin of the phrase "according to the loyalty of one's heart".
urūnum signifies a metal-smelting furnace. Cognate with: Kur. ōrnā to be warm weather, be heated (e.g. iron, body with fever); ōrta'ānā to warm, heat. Malt. órtre to make red-hot; óthre to become red-hot (DEDR 1064) Santali. Ta. uru (-pp-, -tt-) to burn, smart, be angry; uruppam, uruppu heat, anger; urumam heat (as of the sun, of the atmosphere), sultriness, noon; Ka. uri to burn, blaze, glow, burn with fever, rage, envy, burn or smart as a wound, as mouth from pepper; n. burning, flame, blaze, etc.; urika one who burns (tr.), a passionate, angry man; uripu, urisu to cause to burn, inflame; uruvala, uravala, ural, urlu fuel; uru, urapu, uripu, urupu, uruvu, urpu burning, flame; urugu passion, anger, wrath; ummaḷa heat; grief, trouble; ummaḷike heat; grief, distress; ummaḷisu to be hot; to grieve, be distressed. Koḍ. uri (-v-, -ñj-) burning sensation is felt; uri burning sensation. Tu. uri blaze, flame, heat, acute pain, wrath; uriyuni to burn, blaze, feel a burning sensation, be angry, envious, (belly) is hungry; urkilů prickly heat. Te. (K.) uriyu to burn (intr.), be afflicted, grieve; (K.) uralu to burn (intr.)? Br. hushing to set fire to, burn, scorch, make feverish, burn with rage; hushingingto be burnt, etc. Cf. 568 Ta. ukkaram, 661 Ta. uruku, and 1064 Kui ōpu, Kur. ōrnā. (DEDR 656) Ta. uruku (uruki-) to dissolve (intr.) with heat, melt, liquefy, be fused, become tender, melt (as the heart), be kind, glow with love, be emaciated; urukku (urukki-) to melt (tr.) with heat (as metals or congealed substances), dissolve, liquefy, fuse, soften (as feelings), reduce, emaciate (as the body), destroy; n. steel, anything melted, product of liquefaction; urukkam melting of heart, tenderness, compassion, love (as to a deity, friend, or child); urukkiṉam that which facilitates the fusion of metals (as borax). Ma. urukuka to melt, dissolve, be softened; urukkuka to melt (tr.); urukkam melting, anguish; urukku what is melted, fused metal, steel. Ko. uk steel. Ka. urku, ukku id. Koḍ. ur- (uri-) to melt (intr.); urïk- (urïki-) id. (tr.);ukkï steel. Te. ukku id. Go. (Mu.) urī-, (Ko.) uṛi- to be melted, dissolved; tr. (Mu.) urih-/urh- (Voc. 262). Konḍa (BB) rūg- to melt, dissolve. Kui ūra (ūri-) to be dissolved; pl. action ūrka (ūrki-); rūga (rūgi-) to be dissolved. Kuwi (Ṭ.) rūy- to be dissolved; (S.) rūkhnai to smelt; (Isr.) uku, (S.) ukku steel. Cf. 656 Ta. uru.(DEDR 661) Fusing metals: āˊvartayati ʻ causes to turn round ʼ RV. 2. āvártana -- n. ʻ turning round ʼ RV., ʻ stirring, melting of metals ʼ lex. 3. āˊvr̥tta -- ʻ stirred ʼ. [√vr̥t1]1. Pa. āvaṭṭēti tr. ʻ turns round ʼ, Pk. āvattēi, āyaṭṭaï, āuṁtāvēi; āvaṭṭaï ʻ is melted ʼ; Kho. awehrtēik ʻ to cause to turn, make give in exchange ʼ; S. āṭaṇu tr. ʻ to melt ʼ; P. auṭṇā ʻ to boil ʼ; A. āuṭiba ʻ to smelt, thicken (milk) by boiling ʼ; B. āoṭāna ʻ to stir when boiling ʼ; Or. āuṭibā ʻ to melt, boil ʼ; Bhoj. awãṭal ʻ to stir, boil ʼ; H. auṭnā tr. ʻ to boil, to evaporate over a fire ʼ (> intr. ʻ to be boiled, be consumed with rage ʼ whence der. tr. auṭānā); G. avṭavāvũ ʻ to be evaporated while being stirred (of milk or medicine) ʼ; M. aṭṇẽ ʻ to thicken by boiling, fuse metals ʼ.2. Pa. āvattana -- n. ʻ turning back ʼ, āvaṭṭana -- n. ʻ twisting ʼ, Pk. āvattaṇa -- , āyaṭṭaṇa -- n.; Kho. awertōnu ʻ place where water pours over an edge ʼ; S. ātaṇu m. ʻ place where women sit and spin ʼ; L. ātaṇ, attuṇ m. ʻ party of women collected to spin together ʼ; Or. āutaṇa ʻ act of stirring milk over a fire ʼ, H. auṭan m. ʻ boiling ʼ.3. See *ardhāvr̥tta -- ʻ half melted ʼ.Addenda: āvartayati: S. āuṭaṇu (KhubSD) intr. ʻ to melt, dissolve ʼ, tr. ʻ to smelt, cast (metal) ʼ. (CDIAL 1420) Sumerian. Nagga [AN.NA], Akk. Annaku was tin, an additive to copper to produce the alloy bronze (Sum. Zabar, Akk. Sipparu). urudu-luh-ha signified refined copper. urudu-sig5 signified refined copper. urudu, unrefined matte or black copper ingots were imported from Meluhha. "Benno Landsberger and other Assyriologists argued that by examining the structure of Sumerian names of occupations, as well as toponyms and hydronyms, one can suggest that there was once an earlier group of people in the region who spoke an entirely different language, often referred to as Proto-Euphratean. Terms for "farmer", "smith", "carpenter", and "date" (as in the fruit), also do not appear to have a Sumerian or Semitic origin...Proto-Euphratean is a hypothetical unclassified language or languages which was considered by some Assyriologists (for example Samuel Noah Kramer), to be the substratumlanguage of the people that introduced farming into Southern Iraq in the Early Ubaid period (5300-4700 BC)." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Euphratean\_language Stone statue of Kurlil, Early Dynastic III, 2500 BC Tell Al-'Ubaid. The statue compares with the Mohenjo-daro and Mari priests. I suggest that the expression urudu-luh-ha 'refined copper' is cognate with (and perhaps derived from) Proto-Indo-European (Meluhha) words rudhira, 'red' and loha 'copper, iron, any metal'. Similarly, the Sumerian word AN.NA, annaku, nagga, 'tin' are cognate with and derived from nāga नाग -गम् 1 Tin. -2 Lead; -जम् 1 red lead. -2tin; -जीवनम् tin; -नामकम् Tin. रुद्र rudra रुद्र -सखः N. of Kubera; -रोदनम् gold; यत्सेवयाग्नेरिव रुद्ररोदनम् Bhāg. 8.24.48; रुधिर rudhira रुधिर a. [रुध्-किरच् Uṇ.1.5] Red, red-coloured. -रम् 1 Blood. -2 Saffron. -रः 1 The red colour. lōha लोह a. 1 Red, reddish. -2 Made of copper, coppery. -3 Made of iron; भ्रमतश्च वराहस्य लोहस्य प्रमुखे समम् Mb.1. 135.23. -हः, -हम् 1 Copper. -2 Iron. -3 Steel. -4 Any metal; वस्तून्योषधयः स्नेहा रसलोहमृदो जलम् Bhāg.2. 6.24. -5 Gold; यथा सौम्यैकेन लोहमणिना Ch. Up.6.1.5. -6 Blood. -7 A weapon; अद्भ्यो$ग्निर्त्रह्मतः क्षत्रमश्मनो लोह- मुत्थितम् Ms.9.321. See: https://www.britannica.com/place/Mesopotamia-historical-region-Asia#ref55467 "Sumer was first settled between 4500 and 4000 BCE by a non-Semitic people who did not speak the Sumerian language. These people now are called proto-Euphrateans or Ubaidians, for the village Al-ʿUbayd, where their remains were first discovered. The Ubaidians were the first civilizing force in Sumer, draining the marshes for agriculture, developing trade, and establishing industries, including weaving, leatherwork, metalwork, masonry, and pottery. After the Ubaidian immigration to Mesopotamia, various Semitic peoples infiltrated their territory, adding their cultures to the Ubaidian culture and creating a high pre-Sumerian civilization." https://www.britannica.com/place/Sumer#ref253215 See: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/JonesM-MA2007.pdf Michael Rice Jones, 2007, Oxhide ingots, coper production, and the mediterranean trade in copper and other metals in the Bronze Age, Thsesis submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University, 418 pages. Abstract. "The production and trade in copper and bronze was one of the major features of the complex societies in the Near East and Mediterranean during the third to first millennia B.C. While finished metal objects are common finds from the period, ancient metal ingots and hoards of scrap metal, as well as archaeological evidence of metallurgical activities, are often more important sources of information for how ancient technology and trade functioned. Shipwrecks, particularly those found off the coast of Turkey at Uluburun and Cape Gelidonya, as well as mining and smelting sites in the Mediterranean region, provide invaluable information on the production and trade of copper and tin, the main ingredients of bronze. In this thesis, I examine the evolution of the copper trade in the eastern and central Mediterranean, particularly during the Late Bronze Age, when ‘oxhide’ ingots were widely exported. Finds of oxhide ingots have increased dramatically in recent years, and no synthesis of all of this newly available evidence is currently available. I attempt to analyze this new evidence in relation to older finds and research, with a particular focus on the cargo of the Uluburun shipwreck, the largest collection of Bronze Age metal ingots from a single site in the Mediterranean. The history of oxhide ingot production is complex, but by the Late Bronze Age Cyprus was supplying much of the copper used to neighboring regions, with revolutionary effects on societies in Cyprus and elsewhere. The archaeological evidence shows that oxhide ingots are early examples of a standardized industrial product made for export by emerging state-level societies during the second millennium B.C. and fueled the development of international trade, metallurgical technology, and complex social institutions in a variety of Mediterranean societies from Egypt and the Levant, Greece, Cyprus, to Sardinia in the central Mediterranean."...
La richesse du matériel métallique mis au jour sur les sites de Ras Shamra et de Minet el-Beida, ainsi que de Ras Ibn Hani, a été maintes fois soulignée. Le bronze, alliage de cuivre et d'étain, est de loin le métal le plus attesté, utilisé pour une grande diversité d'objets (outillage, armement, parures, figurines, vases…). La découverte de lingots de métal a été signalée dès les premières campagnes de fouille. À ce jour, seuls des lingots de cuivre, d'argent et de plomb ont été répertoriés, ces derniers étant très majoritaires ; aucun lingot d'étain n'est mentionné dans les archives de fouille ou les publications. La documentation textuelle fournit quant à elle de nombreuses mentions de métaux et fait référence aux techniques métallurgiques ainsi qu'aux artisans travaillant le métal et aux personnes en lien avec la gestion des métaux et des productions métalliques. Les textes semblent montrer que l'administration à Ugarit avait affaire pour les métaux à des quantités standardisées avec deux unités, de 4,7 kg et de 5,6 kg. La confrontation des données textuelles et archéologiques pourrait indiquer l'usage d'un système d'échange fondé, pour le cuivre, sur le sicle ougaritique. 1 This article is one result of the research project "Bureaucracy and Administrative Procedures in the Syrian Kingdom of Ugarit (14th to 12th centuries B.C.)" (FFI2015-67357-P) (MINECO/FEDER, UE), funded by the Spanish Ministry for Economic Affairs and Competitiveness within the National Plan for Scientific Research, Development and Technological Innovation (I+D+I). It also forms part of the current programme of research by the Mission archéologique syro-française de Ras Shamra-Ougarit (studies of the unpublished archives of excavations), funded by the Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères.
Observations on the Language Situation in Late Bronze Age Ugarit
Multilingualism in Ancient Contexts: Perspectives from Ancient Near Eastern and Early Christian Contexts, 2021
Ugarit is both the name of a kingdom in northwestern Syria and the name of its capital, which thrived during the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The capital was destroyed in 1185 BCE, and, until the city's excavation, was only known by its modern Arabic name of Tell Ras Shamra. Claude F.A. Schaeffer began conducting excavations on Tell Ras Shamra on 9 May 1929. Only five days later, on 14 May 1929, the first clay tablets with a hitherto unknown cuneiform script were found on the northern part of the acropolis. 2 In spite of various difficulties, the decipherment of this new script was achieved by Hans Bauer (Halle an der Saale), Marcel Cohen (Paris), Paul-Édouard Dhorme (Jerusalem), and Charles Virolleaud (Paris) between 1929 and 1930. 3 At present, ca. 4 000 clay tablets have been unearthed on Tell Ras Shamra. These clay tablets belonged to several archives and libraries from the city of Ugarit and from the palace of Ras Ibn Hani. 4 1 My thanks go to Prof. Louis Jonker (Stellenbosch) for the invitation to the congress on multilingualism. The research for this chapter was carried out at Stellenbosch University in April 2019, where I am indebted to my host, Prof. Izak Cornelius, and at the Collège de France in May 2019, where I am indebted to my host, Prof. Thomas Römer. I also thank Magdalena Bekavac (Tübingen) and Susanne Maier (Tübingen) for supporting me in writing this chapter, and Alexander Johannes Edmonds (Tübingen) for improving the English.
The merchants of Ugarit: oligarchs of the Late Bronze Age trade in metals?
2012
Ugarit’s location at the nexus of land based routes that delivered tin from Central Asia and Eastern Mediterranean maritime trade circuits, together with its close proximity to Cyprus, from which it received abundant supplies of copper, make it a unique vantage point from which to study trade in the components of bronze in the LBA. Added to this, it is indeed fortunate that, at the close of the LBA, the merchants of Ugarit were literate and recorded their business transactions on tablets that have been excavated in their hundreds since the 1950s. This extraordinary survival means more is known about the activities of Ugarit’s merchants than, for example, their European counterparts in the early Middle Ages. This paper explores the role the merchants of Ugarit played in supplying metals to the Eastern Mediterranean world in the closing years of the LBA, drawing on recent philological work and attempting to integrate this with archaeological and scientific data. It also considers how a business oligarchy comprised of powerful merchants, functioning alongside Ugarit’s Palace, may have provided the foundation for the development of entrepreneurial trade.
Spread of Indus Script Rgveda, Meluhha words of metalwork, lapidarywork during the Bronze Age
Mesopotamian EDI cuneiform texts from Ur distinguish between copper (urudu/eru) and tin=bronze (zabar/siparru). ED II/III texts from Fara (Limet 1960) mention metallic tin (AN.NA/annakum). Texts from Palace G at Ebla refer to the mixing of various ratios of 'washed' copper (a-gar(-gar)/abaru) and tin to produce bronze (Waetzoldt and Bachmann 1984; Archi 1993). The recipes are also found in the late 19th century BCE texts from Mari (Muhly, JD, 1985, ‘Sources of Tin and the Beginning of Bronze Metallurgy’ AJA 89, pp. 275-291, p.282). Typical copper-tin ratios are from 6:1 to 10:1. This monograph traces cognates of urudu/eru 'copper' and anakku 'tin' (Sumerian) in Meluhha and identifies these as substrate words of Sumerian which is a language isolate.. “Sumerian words with a pre-Sumerian origin are:professional names such as simug ‘blacksmith’ and tibira ‘copper smith’, ‘metal-manufacturer’ are not in origin Sumerian words. Agricultural terms, like engar ‘farmer’, apin ‘plow’ and absin ‘furrow’, are neither of Sumerian origin. Craftsman like nangar ‘carpenter’, agab ‘leather worker’ Some of the most ancient cities, like Kish, have names that are not Sumerian in origin. These words must have been loan words from a substrate language. The words show how far the division in labor had progressed even before the Sumerians arrived.” (http://www.wsu.edu:8080/\~dee/meso/meso.htm – No longer available) http://firstlegend.info/theoldones.html One religious term of Sumerian is sanga ‘priest’ which has roots in Indo-European *sāṅgaka ʻ relating to a company ʼ. [saṅgá -- ]S. sã̄go m. ʻ companionship, caravan ʼ.(CDIAL 13328) संघ saṅgha m S An assembly, a multitude; a collection, an assemblage; a number (of things animate or inanimate, but esp. of living beings) gathered together. Sāṅguā ସାଙ୍ଗୁଆ— Sāṅguā (ସାଙ୍ଗେ[ଙ୍ଗୋ]ଈ—ସ୍ତ୍ରୀ) [synonym(s): সঙ্গপ্রিয় संगचाहनेवाला সঙ্গী, সহচর सङ्गी] ଦେ. ବିଣ. (ପୁଂ)— ୟେଉଁ ବ୍ୟକ୍ତି ସଙ୍ଗୀମାନଙ୍କ ସମାଜରେ ଚଳିବାକୁ ସୁଖ ପାଏ; ସମାଜିକ—Fond of company; sociable; social. ବି— 1। ସଙ୍ଗୀ; ସହଚର—1. Companion; mate. 2। ସାଥୁଆ; ୟେଉଁ ୟାତ୍ରୀ—ଗୁମାସ୍ତା ଅନ୍ୟ ପଣ୍ଡାଙ୍କ ୟାତ୍ରୀମାନଙ୍କ ସଙ୍ଗ ଧରି ବହୁ ଦୂରରୁ ତୀର୍ଥକୁ ଆସିଥାଆନ୍ତି—2. A canvassing agent accompanying the pilgrims of some other Paṇḍā than his (agent's) employer to a shrine from a long distance. 3। ୟେଉଁ ଲୋକମାନେ ସାଙ୍ଗି ବାଉଁଶ ଦ୍ବାରା ଭାର କାନ୍ଧେଇ କରି ବୁହାନ୍ତି—3. Persons who carry loads by means of Sāṅgi pole.(Oriya) See: Sumerian accounting tablets signify sanga Kushim read rebus in Meluhha substrate saṅg, 'caravan' kusi 'money-lender' https://tinyurl.com/y4kevzpl The administrative official who signs the mathematical tablets of Sumer is SANGA Kushim or SANGA of Kushim. I suggest that this expression is rooted in Meluhha expressions related to caravan or body of pilgrims led by a temple official and money-lending (or, credit operations) to support traders. I suggest that both words Sanga and Kushim of Akkadian (Sumer) are substrate words which have etyma in Ancient Indian dialects. sã̄go signifies a caravan; kusi signifies a money-lender. Thus, SANGA Kushim who signs some administrative accounting tablets may refer to a money-lender who is a temple official or a leader of a caravan of merchants. Dudu plaque ca. 2400 BCE signifies sanga of Ningirsu. sanga 'priest' is a loanword in Sumerian/Akkadian. The presence of such a sanga may also explain Gudea as an Assur, in the tradition of ancient metalworkers speaking Proto-Prakritam of Indian sprachbund. saṅgu m. ʻ body of pilgrims ʼ (whence sã̄go m. ʻ caravan ʼ), L. P. saṅg m. (CDIAL 12854). Excerpt from: Yuval Noah Harari, 2011, Sapiens, A brief history of humankind, Vintage: Source: RJ Forbes, 1950, Metallurgy in Antiquity: a notebook for archaeologists and technologists, Brill Archive, p. 356) For bronze (ZABAR written ud-ka-bar, the Akkadian siparru) a complex sign is used. It is astonishing to remark that later in Assyrian times the word siparru comes to be used for ‘copper’ while the old word eru (Sumerian URUDU) then denotes bronze. We cannot see the reason, but it certainly confuses our translation of later texts, but in the earlier texts there seems no reason not to adhere to the strict separation of the two words…(Sumerians) were well aware that bronze was an alloy, even if they did not know tin and bronze is called ‘what was made by the smith as an alloy’ by the time of Sargon I. We can not understand LUTZ’ reason for stating that ZABAR originally meant shining ore and then copper, for which URUDU was used later and ZABAR was transferred to the alloys of copper and lead. De Genouillac mentions that at Telloh coper is as common as at Susa or Uruk and as the analyses show that the coper contained some iron and tin he supposed that mixed pyrites were already worked…The following Djemdet Nasr period…Copper metallurgy produces copper picks, double-axes, bowls, rings, tubes, mirrors, fishhooks, forks and socketed axes. Intricate casting of copper in animal form are attempted. This movement more or less culminates in Early Dynastic times. Then bronze seems to have come in general use as copper was already for some time. Early objects from Ur are as pure as native copper, but Desch considers them manufactured from pure malachite. The melting and refining of copper must have been carried out with skill…Not only is open mould casting known, but also closed moulds casting and the cire perdue process which was used for many of the elaborate copper reliefs of Ur. It often causes astonishment that these early metallurgists so freely cast copper which is still considered at present a difficult job especially in closed moulds as the molten copper is so viscous that it does not flow readily into all the ends of the moulds and often sticks to it on cooling. However, natural impurities of early copper often made casting must easier than would seem at first sight. Early Dynastic finds at Tell asmar include statuettes of 99% pure copper cast by the cire perddue process and welded most professionally…Copper was already used in payments in the forms of bars, rings and bricks. Copper helmets were worn by the Sumerian army…A special god of the copper-smiths as the emanation of Ea is mentioned and though the text is late (Bab.Misz., XII,4), the legend is probably very old. The old fire-god Girru is mentioned as ‘the refiner of gold and silver the mixer of copper and siparru’. A special god of copper, Nindara, who shone like it, came out of the earth where metal is found ‘covered with solid copper like a skin’. In the period of the Sumerian Renaissance of the Ur III Dynasty (2300-2200 BCE) the ensi Gudea imports copper from ka-gal-ad, the mountain of Kimash (in the Zagros region), where it was dug from the mountain side (ba-al) and the ore was concentrated by sieving (imi-bi mu-na-ab-pad). After smelting the cakes of copper were transported in baskets (ushub). Other texts of his reign mention urudu-hu-lah-ha, that is copper refined by fire which serves to make bronze by alloying it with NAGGA (Akkadian. Anaku), a work of the smelter or SIMUG. It is possible that tin was already known and that the Sumerians mistook it for lead (anaku), as the Romans much later often mistook antimony for lead. In other texts (RTC, 19 and 100) NAGGA-ZABAR (tin-bronze?) is mentioned. Three specimen of Ur III copper contained 0.78% of lead, 1.5% of iron and traces of arsenic, which experts considered to have been smelted from pyrites though the smelting was carried out quickly and the copper had not long remained in the furnace. This is of course most important and should be confirmed by further analyses…smelting of galena…invented in the early half of the third millennium BCE. Connections between Anatolia, where this art was developed, and Mesopotamia are particularly tight in this period, when the Cappadocian letters testify that black copper and refined copper were exported from the inland of Asia Minor to Mesopotamia… Texts from Umma belonging to this period throw some light on the organization of metallurgy in these Sumerian cities. The metal is delivered to a central storehouse (AZAG AN), the purpose of which is defined in the texts by the addition ‘where is kept….’Here the copper-smiths get their orders and their material for which a receipt is written and kept. Here also the city’s imports are stored. These texts range from the 34th year of Dungi to the ninth of Bursin, and comprise amongst others a receipt for 1 talent of imported copper, a delivery to the smith Ur-ningin-gar, a receipt for 0.6 talent of forged copper (URUDU-KIN) and a receipt of a present of 26.5 minae of copper for the ensi. From the latter text it would seem that quantities of 10 Kgrs of copper are still worth mentioning and this warns us again not to overrate the copper production of these early times…copper served as a medium of exchange, often in bar form and weights of metal in animal form are common too. The texts of Mari (about 2000 BCE) mention the construction of a war chariot for the king, for which no less than 18 minae of crude copper were used. 27,.8 minae of copper were used for the ‘statue of the king that is to be sent to Aleppo’, this copper belonged to Dagan of Terqa. Four passages in these texts refer to eru misu-ala-shu-u, that is refined Cyprian copper used in the palace refineries. These imports of refined Cyprian copper become very common in the fifteenth century, exports of copper and bronze to Syria are common in Mesopotamian texts since the sixteenth century. .The importance of copper trade is also shown by the records of a Babylonian banking-firm, which deals in gold, silver, copper, bronze and lead, but not yet in iron (1395-1242 BCE)(CAH, I,566).(ibid., pp.355-360)..
An old Uralic compound metal name
Elämä ja etymologia. Janne Saarikiven 50-vuotisjuhlakirja., 2023
There is an old Uralic compound metal name for 'tin/lead', preserved only in Permic and Mansi, but it seems to precede all the branch-specific sound changes. I propose an Indo-Iranian etymology for the first part of the compound. I have narrowed the place of forming the compound name for ‘tin/lead’ down to the Central Ural region (wide definition), the period to between 2000 and 1500 BC, and the donor language to either Late Proto-Indo-Iranian or Proto-Iranian.