FORGOTTEN PAST Solving a mystery of forgotten antiquities and finding their significance to the present CRYSTAL J. GAMRADT INTRODUCTION The term antiquities generally conjures images of ancient artifacts: prehistoric tools, American Indian arrowheads, Hammurubi s code, or Tutankhamun s burial mask. These items lie hidden in ancient lands where they have laid waiting for discovery for thousands of years. Once their secret is discovered the artifacts are carefully preserved, documented and, eventually, displayed in a museum. The last place you would expect to find ancient antiquities is at a land grant university in the heart of the Great Plains in the United States. Yet, that is exactly what happened at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota.
Since its beginnings, the history of South Dakota State University was preserved in closets, basements, office files, and other forgotten storage areas. While many individuals took it upon themselves to collect historical material, no one person or department was officially responsible for collecting, organizing and preserving the university s rich history. At Hilton M. Briggs Library there was a room called the archives, but materials stored in this room were unorganized. It had become a resting place for many forgotten papers, photographs, publications and artifacts. In the fall of 1997, the SDSU Archives & Special Collections Department was established in Hilton M. Briggs Library. Elizabeth B. Scott was appointed the first official University Archivist, and myself, Crystal Gamradt, the Archives Associate. We began sorting through the numerous boxes of unorganized, random materials. We discovered many treasures that helped us draw a picture of the history of the university. Some items found were the papers of Robert F. Kerr and William Powers, two university library directors in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and Niels Ebbesen Hansen, head of the Horticultural Department of South Dakota State College beginning in 1895. During Hansen s 55 years associated with South Dakota State University, he made eight world trips as an agricultural explorer searching for new grasses, fruits and other plants throughout Europe and Asia, including Siberia. One day, we discovered a small old, dusty box marked radioactive materials. Our curiosity was piqued. What was in this box? Was it truly radioactive? We assumed that if this box was in the library it most likely was not radioactive and if it was we were already compromised. We decided to open the box. Imagine our surprise when we discovered five clay Sumerian cuneiform tablets wrapped in tissue paper, complete with a 2
translation! (The archives did eventually have the tablets tested by the South Dakota State University Environmental Health & Safety Office for radioactivity, and found they were not, putting any doubts we had to rest.) The translation that was found with the tablets was typewritten on a brittle, yellowed sheet of paper with the letterhead of Edgar J. Banks of Eustis, Florida. The translation dated the tablets at 2400-2100 B.C.E. It also included the signature of Edgar J. Banks. (SEE Appendix A) EDGAR JAMES BANKS FORGOTTEN AND REMEMBERED Edgar James Banks (1866 1945) was an Assyriologist and a dealer of artifacts. He was a dedicated explorer of the Middle East and devoted student of its past. He was very active in the first few decades of the twentieth century and is responsible for most of the small cuneiform collections at universities, historical societies, seminaries, and museums throughout the United States. In hope of gaining access to archaeological sites, Banks secured a position in Baghdad in 1898 as an American consul to the Ottoman Empire. However, money was scarce, and local authorities hindered his archaeological ambitions. In 1900, Banks was chosen as leader of a proposed archaeological expedition to Ur. The venture, called the Oriental Exploration Fund (Babylon Division), was sponsored by the University of Chicago and financed by John D. Rockefeller. However, Banks had to wait for permission from the Ottoman Empire to excavate. During the wait for permission to excavate, Banks supported himself by becoming acting professor of ancient history at Robert College (now known as Bosporus University 3
in Istanbul). He also acted as assistant to the American ambassador, John Leishman, with whom he became firm friends. On August 27, 1903. Leishman received a telegram from Consul Ravndal of Beirut with a message that the Vice-consul Magelssen [sic] was assassinated. This telegram was also forwarded to President Roosevelt's administration in Washington and the media. In response, the U.S. European Squadron was ordered to Beirut on August 28. That same day Leishman received new information that the Vice-consul had not been assassinated; but only shot at, with the ball passing close. A drunk had haphazardly fired a revolver at the vice-consul as he returned home from some engagement. 1 But the matter was not closed. On August 31, Admiral Cotton informed Leishman that three U.S. ships, led by the flagship Brooklyn, were on their way to Beirut to exact punitive revenge for the "assassination." These confusing events almost led to war between America and the Ottoman Empire. Both governments were caused great embarrassment. Only diplomatic negotiation at its best prevented further escalation of the mistake. As part of the diplomatic settlement Banks received his long-awaited permit on October 3, 1903. It had taken Banks three years to obtain the Ottoman sultan's permission to begin his dig. Even then, he could not excavate Ur. Nor could he choose any other prominent sites. His excavations were to be at Bismya, the site of ancient Adab, in Iraq. 2 Banks work at this site showed that Bismya (ancient Adab) had been inhabited for at least 2000 years and the expedition uncovered a massive ziggurat, several 1 The World & I online web page, <http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/august/indy.html> The forgotten Indiana Jones: from Ancient Mesopotamia to Hollywood, 1999. 2 The Oriental Institute web page, < http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/oi/info/oibh/oi_early_history.html> In the Beginning..., 29 November 2001. 4
temples, a palace, at least one archives of tablets, private houses and a cemetery. 3 The story of Banks' excavations at Bismya and the many problems he encountered is narrated in his book Bismya, or the Lost City of Adab (G.P. Putnam Sons, Knickerbocker Press, New York, 1912). A copy of this rare book has been made available online by the University of Chicago Library. 4 Before leaving, Banks became a dealer in antiquities, purchasing cuneiform tablets from Arabs digging at ancient sites. Years later, he received tablets and other artifacts from a fellow dealer in Constantinople (Istanbul). Banks imported at least 11,000 such relics to the United States, and some estimates suggest the number may have been as many as 175,000 pieces. Antiquities laws at the time were rather murky and depended on whoever was in charge in any given area. Most of the time, a researcher or archaeologist would be told at the time of receiving a permit to excavate what was allowed to leave the country and what was not. Most of the time local "archaeologists" or rather officials would be making this decision. Technically speaking, unless permitted and negotiated, it could not leave the country. In reality, most of the people did not care. However, as for buying antiquities on the market; no laws which would forbid this practice were ever there or enforced. So, all Banks' tablets left Iraq legally. At the time when Banks got his first collection, he bought, more or less, leftovers which were not purchased by the British Museum or other officially known institutions. 5 3 Banks, Edgar James, Bismya, or the Lost City of Adab, New York, G.P. Putnam Sons, Knickerbocker Press, 1912. 4 University of Chicago, Electronic Open Stacks web page <http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/ets/eos/> Edgar James Banks, Bismya or The Lost City of Adab, New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1912, DS70.B2, 24 October 2002. 5 Wasilewska, Ewa. < Mruczek@aol.com> ant. laws, private e-mail message to Crystal Gamradt, 12 November 2002. 5
Returning to the United States, Banks wrote many articles and books and embarked on several lecture tours during which he sold hundreds if not thousands of cuneiform tablets. While his interest in the Middle East did not wane, he had to support his family. In time he embarked on a new career this time in the field of motion pictures. In 1921, film director Cecil B. DeMille invited Banks to become a consultant on movies that concerned biblical stories. 6 There is little documented proof that Banks had any involvement in DeMilles productions as the movies on which Banks collaborated seem to be non-existent. However, his daughter stated that Banks may have been involved in productions created by the director. Banks also established two movie studios of his own, Sacred Films and Seminole Films. Banks created Sacred Films and was later president of Seminole Films. Seminole Films was operated out of Eustis, Florida, where he resided. 7 Seminole focused on stories related to the classical world of ancient Greece and Rome. Eventually, the company went bankrupt. This remarkable explorer has been nearly forgotten. Few recognize the name Edgar James Banks, despite that fact he was involved in the international politics of the Middle East well before T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) even visited the region. Banks is credited with many notable accomplishments. He was the first American to climb Mount Ararat (in search of Noah's Ark) in 1912 and crossed all the deserts from Turkey to Aden (Yemen) the same year. i Banks died a very modest man on May 5, 1945 in Eustis, Florida, few of his neighbors aware of his extraordinary claims to greatness. 6 The World & I online web page, <http://www.worldandi.com/public/2001/august/indy.html> The forgotten Indiana Jones: from Ancient Mesopotamia to Hollywood, 1999. 7 Larson, John A. <ja-larson@uchicago.edu> Re: Edgar James Banks Daphne Banks McLachlan, private e-mail message to Crystal Gamradt, 17 October 2002. 6
A question that begs an answer is this: What was Bank s motive in selling these ancient artifacts? Was it simply a means to supplement his income? Or was this an attempt to get people interested in ancient history? Dr. Ewa Wasilewska, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Anthropology Department, University of Utah, who has been assisting me in my research of Banks, believes that Banks was not selling tablets for profit. Except for some of his early sales, he never made much money on them. His first lot of tablets which he purchased in Baghdad was somewhat of a rescue operation. He wanted to make sure the tablets were in good hands so they could be properly translated and made available to the general public. 8 Little did Banks realize that by breaking up his collection and selling small collections of artifacts to various individuals and institutions throughout the country that he was doing as much damage as the people he was rescuing the artifacts from in the first place. So many of these small collections have been forgotten and are only recently being discovered. CUNEIFORM TABLETS REMEMBERING THE FORGOTTEN The only record of how the cuneiform tablets in SDSU Archives & Special Collections came to reside at South Dakota State University is a letter dated February 19, 1987. This letter was sent to Leon Raney, former library director, from Mark J. Halvorson, former Curator of Collections, South Dakota Agricultural Heritage Museum. The letter indicates that the translation accompanying the tablets was found in the files of Ralph Johnston, first curator of the museum. This letter also indicates that the cuneiform tablets belong to the library. (SEE Appendix B) 8 Wasilewska, Ewa <Mruczek@aol.com>, Re: Edgar J. Banks and the SDSU connection, private e-mail message to Crystal Gamradt, 23 October 2002. 7
Leon Raney helped shed some light on this mystery in an email to me. The following are excerpts from this correspondence: When I came to SDSU in the fall of 1972, I replaced Alfred Trump as Library Director. Mr. Trump remained on the library staff as (acting) Archivist for several years until his final retirement in 1972 Within librarianship, Mr. Trump's real love was archives, and he often brought items from (what would later become) the SDSU Archives collection to my office...i remember very well the day he brought the cuneiform tablets into my office. He unwrapped them and told me what he knew of their provenance. I have long since forgotten much of the details. But he knew that one of our predecessors either William Powers or Dean Stallings had acquired them at one of the American Library Association meetings. It seems to me that Mr. Trump and the person who acquired the tablets either Powers or Stallings even had discussed in some detail how the tablets were acquired (and for what price). I want to believe it was Powers. But I am not certain Mr. Trump ever knew Powers. On the other hand he knew Stallings well So I am forced to conclude it probably was Stallings who brought the materials to SDSU Unfortunately, all of the persons who had first hand knowledge of how the tablets were acquired are now deceased. 9 William Powers was the library director from 1905 to 1936, during the time Banks was lecturing around the United States, and selling his collected tablets. Dean Stallings was library director from 1944-1946. Banks died in 1945, so while it was possible Stallings purchased the tablets from Banks it was more likely that it was Powers who acquired the tablets. Especially if one considers the condition of the translation. It is aged and brittle. Its fragile condition leads one to believe it is more than 55 years old. With this lead the research turned to the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. In 1997, Daphne Banks McLachlan, daughter of Edgar J. Banks, donated her father s papers to the Oriental Institute. Banks was at one time associated with the University of Chicago Oriental Exploration Fund, Babylon Division. I contacted John A. 9 Raney, Leon <raneyl@brookings.net>, Cuneiform tablets, private e-mail message to Crystal Gamradt, 16 September 2002. 8
Larson, Museum Archivist for this institution, inquiring about finding a possible link between Banks, Powers or Stallings and South Dakota State University. Banks papers, prior to their donation to the Oriental Institute, were kept at the Florida home of Banks and eventually his daughter. As a result, the hot, humid climate took a toll on the records, leaving only a portion of the original volume. Larson suspects that the original transaction records were considerably greater in volume than the records McLachlan donated. However, there was some correspondence and a set of 3 x 5 file cards that must have served as an index of sales transactions for Banks. 10 Larson was able to locate ten names with a link to South Dakota. (SEE Appendix C) Two of the names on this list, Doane Robinson and Richard F. Pettigrew, reinforced information I gathered from institutions around the state of South Dakota in researching this project. According to this information, Robinson and Pettigrew did, indeed, purchase tablets from Banks. It can be assumed that some of the acquisitions on this list of buyers were private purchases made for personal collections or to give away as gifts, while others may have been institutional purchases made with institutional funds. Doubtless, some individual items and/or groups of items have changed hands or have been donated to institutions since the 1920 s. However, the most exciting information on this list is two other names that have a connection to South Dakota State University, Robert Slagle and Willis E. Johnson. Robert Slagle was president of South Dakota State College in Brookings from 1906 to 1913 and president of the University of South Dakota in Vermillion from 1914 to 1929. During his term at South Dakota State College, Slagle raised admission standards, 10 Larson, John A. <ja-larson@uchicago.edu> Re: Edgar James Banks Daphne Banks McLachlan, private e-mail message to Crystal Gamradt, 17 October 2002. 9
changed the name of the institution to South Dakota State College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts, implemented the Summer School and correspondence courses, and started the School of Agriculture, a school which offered high school courses during the winter months, making secondary education a possibility for a large number of rural students. 11 Slagle purchased an unusually large number of items from Banks, 61 tablets and an unnamed number of statuettes. However, he did not purchase any items from Banks during his term at South Dakota State College. (SEE Appendix C) Willis E. Johnson was president of South Dakota State College from 1919 to 1923. During his term there were enormous problems with the college infrastructure and many financial difficulties resulting from World War I, but many of the changes he brought about are still felt today. Many student organizations were formally recognized, and intercollegiate athletics became a regular part of college life. He succeeded in opening the student bookstore and placing the post office on campus. The Printing Department also began during his term. One of his most important contributions was the creation of five divisions of study which were the precursors of today's academic colleges. Johnson was recognized for these contributions by the Board of Regents when he was installed as the first President Emeritus in 1923 12, the same year he purchased tablets from Banks. (SEE Appendix C) Regrettably, Banks customer card-index provides little information on the number of tablets sold the Slagle purchase being a noteworthy exception. One can 11 SDSU Archives & Special Collections E-xhibits web page <http://lib.sdstate.edu/archives/exhibits/pastpresidents.html >, Past Presidents of SDSU, 12 December 2001. 12 SDSU Archives & Special Collections E-xhibits web page <http://lib.sdstate.edu/archives/exhibits/pastpresidents.html >, Past Presidents of SDSU, 12 December 2001. 10
make a general guess about the number of tablets on the basis of the dollar amount of the purchase price. The price quoted on the purchase Johnson made is $26.00. The translation found with the tablets at SDSU Archives & Special Collections shows a total price of $18.00, an $8.00 difference. A search was conducted of the University s financial records, but no documentation was found that acknowledges either a purchase or a donation of cuneiform tablets. This is a big assumption, but, since the purchase price is only eight dollars in difference, and the fact that Johnson was president of South Dakota State College at the time of his purchase, one can assume that Johnson is the source for the five cuneiform tablets in SDSU Archives & Special Collections. There are many institutions in the United States that have cuneiform tablets in their collection that originated with Banks. Among these are Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma 13, the University of Notre Dame 14, the Fonthill Museum of Doylestown, Pennsylvania 15, and the University of Minnesota 16. In addition to the University of Minnesota, there are several other institutions in the Upper Great Plains that also have cuneiform tablets in their collections, including the State Historical Society of North Dakota. 17 A questionnaire was distributed to fifteen institutions to discover if cuneiform tablets exist at other institutions within the state of South Dakota (SEE Appendix D). Most returned the questionnaire stating that their institutions did not have any tablets in 13 Southwest Missouri State University web page, <http://courses.smsu.edu/mac566f/phillips13/phillips13.html> Phillips 13, 13 July 2000. 14 University of Notre Dame Rare Books & Special Collections web page, <http://www.rarebooks.nd.edu/collections/manuscripts/ancient/> Ancient Manuscripts, 27 February 2001. 15 The Bucks County Historical Society, The Babylonian Tablet Collection: Fonthill Museum, Doylestown, PA, The Bucks County Historical Society, 2 nd Edition (Revised), January 1986. 16 Buell, Mathew James, Mark Fill, Eva von Dassow, The Cuneiform Inscriptions of the University of Minnesota home page <http://special.lib.umn.edu/rare/cuneiform/index.html> 12 April 2002. 17 Personal telephone call from Mark J. Halvorson, Curator of Collections Research, State Historical Society of North Dakota, 17 October 2002. 11
their collections. However, the Siouxland Heritage Museum and the South Dakota State Historical Society both indicated they have tablets in their collections. The Siouxland Heritage Museum in Sioux Falls has four tablets. They were purchased in 1923 from Edgar J. Banks by Richard F. Pettigrew, a Delegate from the Territory of Dakota, 1877, 1879 and a U.S. Senator from South Dakota, 1889-1901. These tablets are well documented. The collection includes Pettigrew s correspondence with Banks, old museum catalog listings of the tablets, drawings and translations of the tablets. 18 The South Dakota State Historical Society has one tablet in their collection. Doane Robinson purchased tablets from Banks in 1915. Robinson was secretary of the South Dakota State Historical Society from 1901 to 1926 and in 1945-1946. Robinson, a Wisconsin native, was a schoolteacher, lawyer, poet, and publisher before becoming South Dakota's state historian. He collected thousands of artifacts and books to form the basis of the State Historical Society's museum collection. The tablet collection is documented, though not as well as the Siouxland Heritage Museum collection. The Historical Society s collection consists of correspondence between Banks and Robinson and a receipt for four tablets, although only one tablet exists today. The letters state there was a translation accompanying the tablets, but none can be found. This tablet is cone shaped. 19 Both the Siouxland Heritage Museum and the South Dakota State Historical Society acquisitions are documented in the Banks Papers at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago (SEE Appendix C). All other state institutions contacted stated 18 Hoskins, William J., Director, Siouxland Heritage Museum, letter, 17 September 2002. 19 Littlefield, Jennifer, Curator of Collections, South Dakota State Historical Society, questionnaire, 18 September 2002. 12
they have no tablets. There are, most likely, other forgotten tablets out there that have yet to be discovered. SDSU Archives & Special Collections have five tablets in their collection. The tablets range in size from approximately 1 to 1.75 square and ¼ to ½ thick. While some tablets are in better condition than others, most are legible. The translation found with the tablets provides only general information about each tablet: date, place found, and general description; it is not a word for word translation. (SEE Appendix A) Many institutions that have cuneiform tablets originating with Banks have had them retranslated. In many cases, the dates provided by Banks do not agree with the dates attributed to the latest translation. 20 Cale Johnson, Research Assistant with the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) at University of California at Los Angeles contacted SDSU Archives & Special Collections in September 2002 about their tablets. CDLI is a non-profit research project funded by the National Science Foundation that is attempting to catalog and document cuneiform tablets that have been scattered around the world. They represent the efforts of an international group of Assyriologists, museum curators and historians of science to make available through the internet the form and content of cuneiform tablets dating from the beginning of writing, ca. 3200 B.C., until the end of the third millennium. 21 Johnson offered to provide the archives with better translations of the tablets and make them accessible to researchers around the world. At his request, images were provided for 20 The Bucks County Historical Society, The Babylonian Tablet Collection: Fonthill Museum, Doylestown, PA, The Bucks County Historical Society, 2 nd Edition (Revised), January, 1986. 21 CDLI (Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative) home page <http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/> 22 September 2002. 13
each of the tablets as well as the original translation. CDLI will provide the archives with composite images, transliterations, and new translations for each tablet. Banks original translation states that three of the tablets are records of receipt for temple offerings, one a sealed temple record and one contract or business document. Banks dated these tablets between 2400 B.C. and 2000 B.C. (SEE Appendix E I.) However, Banks translation may not be accurate and new translations should provide more accurate dates. Three of the tablets were found at Drehem, a suburb of Nippur. One was found at Jokha or Djokha, the ruin of the ancient city of Umma in central Babylon, and one at Senkereh, the ruin of the Biblical city of Elassar mentioned in Genesis 14:1. All sites are located in ancient Mesopotamia (SEE Appendix J). MESOPOTAMIA THE LAND BETWEEN THE RIVERS Mesopotamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the present day country of Iraq. These rivers flow into the Persian Gulf. The climate for the region ranged from cool to hot with temperatures often over 110 degrees Fahrenheit with moderate rainfall. The land of Mesopotamia was once dominated by floods, but today is mostly desert. The seasonal flooding was a challenge to the farmers of Mesopotamia but over time these farmers learned to control the flooding to some degree. The fertile land along the rivers produced such crops as wheat, barley, sesame, flax, and various fruits and vegetables. Irrigation of the land led to a surplus of food. This surplus led to the development of trade and commerce, or economics. The development of economics was the main motivation for the development of writing. The Mesopotamians desired to administer economic and trade transactions. 14
Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using clay tokens from about the 9 th millennium. These clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes depicting different objects, (a bull s head, a sheep, a basket, a bar of gold, a bag of wheat, etc.) and were used as counters. These counters or tokens were pictographically used, that is, they depicted concrete objects. Further specification was obtained with marks, such as scratches and strokes. Many experts believe this was the first steps toward abstract notation. Over time, tokens were placed inside a sealed clay ball called a bullae. This would certify that the contents were not tampered with. If you were sending five goats to someone, you would place five tokens in a bullae. When the goats arrived, the person would open the bullae and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived. A further step was to imprint the number of tokens inside the bullae on the outside. At the end of the 4 th millennium an explosion of new signs appeared. This development took place simultaneously with the building of the first cities and temples. This new writing system was basically pictograms, or "word-pictures." The pictograms were curvilinear in shape. But drawing curved lines on clay tablets was cumbersome. The use of a pointed reed instrument called a stylus began and curved lines gradually became straight lines, the shapes simplified, and cuneiform (from Latin cuneus means wedge shaped ) writing was born. Clay was an ideal writing material when paired with the reed stylus writing tool. The writer would make quick impressions in the soft clay using either the wedge or pointed end of the stylus. By adjusting the relative position of the tablet to the stylus, the 15
writer could use a single tool to make a variety of impressions. While many wedge positions were possible, awkward ones quickly fell from use in favor of those that were quickest and easiest to make. Like sloppy handwriting, badly made cuneiform signs would be illegible or misunderstood. Tablets were routinely recycled and if permanence was called for, they could be baked hard in a kiln. Many of the tablets found by archaeologists were preserved by accident. They were baked when attacking armies burned the building in which they were kept. Not everyone learned to read and write. The ones that did learn were picked by the gods and were called scribes (professional writers). Boys chosen to become scribes began study at the age of eight and finished when they were 20 years old. Classrooms were most likely in a private home. Lessons were to practice writing thousand year old cuneiform characters. Higher levels of Babylonian learning involved studying the roots of their civilization, much like modern scholars study Greek and Latin. Literacy and knowledge were the tickets to a prosperous life as a scribe in the ever-growing government and religious bureaucracies. Cuneiform was not a language. It was, like Egyptian hieroglyphics and the Chinese system of ideographs, or ideograms, a picture-writing system that used symbols. As the symbols gained acceptance throughout the Middle East, they could be understood by all ethnic groups even though the groups spoke different languages and dialects. The types of records kept by governments in ancient Mesopotamia were administrative records and royal inscriptions. Administrative records kept in this period were typically accounting records dated by the year of the reigning king, by the month, and sometimes by the day. Many of these administrative records were impressed with 16
the seal of the official in charge of the transaction recorded. After administrative records, one of the most common types of inscribed artifacts were the royal inscriptions commissioned by kings of cities and states to commemorate their deeds, often their construction of buildings or other public works. These short royal inscriptions were by no means unique documents, as the administrative records discussed above. They were, rather, mass-produced by scribes working practically as human copy machines, and they were typically deposited within the very fabric of the building whose construction they commemorated, combining the functions of a cornerstone and a time capsule. Often large numbers of virtually identical copies of such inscriptions were produced and deposited in this way. Of the voluminous quantities of records that were generated by the energetic bureaucracy, tens of thousands happen to have been preserved over the millennia and discovered in modern times, and have found their way into institutional and private collections. The earliest known documents in cuneiform were written by the Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia, who assigned their own word-sounds to the symbols. Later, the Akkadians adopted the symbols but pronounced them as corresponding Akkadian words. Cuneiform thus passed successively from one people to another. The Akkadians were succeeded by the Babylonians, and they by the Assyrians. The Assyrian and Babylonian empires fell in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. By this time Aramaic was becoming the common language of the area, and Phoenician script came into general use. Cuneiform was used less and less, though many priests and scholars kept the writing form alive until the 1st century AD. Cuneiform owes its disappearance largely to the fact that it was a non-alphabetic way of writing. It could not 17
compete successfully with the alphabetic systems being developed by the Phoenicians, Israelites, Greeks, and other peoples of the Mediterranean. CONCLUSION This project has given the staff of SDSU Archives & Special the opportunity to share the story of the forgotten cuneiform tablets with the citizens of South Dakota. The Brookings Register and SDSU Collegian ran stories on my research. The story in the Brookings Register sparked the interest of a local middle school. The sixth grade class at Mickelson Middle School in Brookings wase studying Ancient Mesopotamia at the time the article appeared in the paper. Linda Hillestad, sixth grade teacher, inquired if the students could view the tablets and if I would talk to the students about the tablets and ancient writing. I was more than happy to share the story of the tablets and talked to 200 students one September morning. The students were fascinated by the tablets. An excellent way to get kids excited about history. Local Brookings residents and media were not the only ones interested in this project. South Dakota Public Radio also interviewed me for the program All Things Considered; and Ramsey Campbell of the Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida, doing an article on Edgar J. Banks, contacted me for my insights on Banks and discovering the tablets in the archives collection. This project began simply. It began as a search for answers to questions raised since the discovery of the cuneiform tablets in the archives. How did they get here? Who purchased them? What are they? What were they used for? Hopefully, some of these questions have been answered in this article. But there is one question yet to be answered. How are these ancient antiquities significant to South Dakota and South 18
Dakota State University? These artifacts give us a connection to ancient peoples 4,000 years ago. They allow us to discover that, indeed, these ancient peoples were really not all that different from us. They worked their fields, conducted business, made laws, paid taxes, and kept records, just like people do today. 19
Resources Hooker, J.T., et. al., Reading the past: ancient writing from cuneiform to the alphabet, Berkeley, University of California Press/British Museum, c1990. Laessoe, Jorgen, People of ancient Assyria, their inscriptions and correspondence. Translated from the Danish by F.S. Leigh-Browne, London, Routledge & K. Paul, [1963]. Nissen, Hans Jorg, et. al., Archaic bookkeeping: early writing and techniques of economic administration in the ancient Near East, Chicago, Ill., University of Chicago Press, c1993. Openheim, A. Leo, et. al., Ancient Mesopotamia: portrait of a dead civilization, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1977. Schmandt-Besserat, Denise, The earliest precursor of writing, in William S.-Y. Wang (ed.) The Emergence of language : development and evolution : readings from Scientific American magazine, New York, W.H. Freeman, c.1991. 20
Appendix A Translation of tablets by Edgar J. Banks found with tablets at SDSU Archives & Special Collections 21
Appendix B: Letter sent to Leon Raney, Dean of Libraries, SDSU from Mark J. Halvorson, Director, SD Agricultural Heritage Museum. 22
Appendix C: List of names of buyers from Oriental Institute, University of Chicago: Pres. Willis Ernest Johnson, South Dakota State College, Brookings, South Dakota, February 5, 1923: tablet(s), $26.00. Mrs. Perla G. DeMouth, Library, Deadwood, South Dakota, February, 1925: *BISMYA (1912), $4.00; tablet(s), $11.00. Prof. W. L. Natestein, Huron, South Dakota, May 20, 1921; tablet(s), $28.00. J. W. Parmley, President, State Historical Society, Ipswich, South Dakota, date unknown: tablet(s), purchase price unknown. A letter from Parmley to Banks, dated March 27, 1929, refers to the purchase of tablets from Banks "some years ago," and Parmley asks if any are available "at this time." Mrs. Samuel McKelvil, 140 South 26th Street, Lincoln, Nebraska, and Mystic, South Dakota, April 9, 1923: tablet(s), $36.00; May 4, 1923:*BISMYA (1912), $4.00; April 5, 1924: Ba S.: one (1), $1.00; coin(s), Arab, $25.00; July 14, 1924: coin(s), old, $21.20. Prof. Doane Robinson, University of South Dakota, Pierre, South Dakota, October 4, 1915, tablet(s), $26.00. Pres. C. C. O'Harra, School of Mines, Rapid City, South Dakota, May 31, 1921: tablet(s), $34.00; June 20, 1921: tablet(s), $52.00. Sen. R. F. Pettigrew, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, March 8, 1923: tablet(s), $9.00; May 30, 1923: tablet(s), $23.00; September 18, 1923: *BISMYA (1912), $4.00; December 13, 1924: coins, Alexander, Arab, $13.50. Pres. A. D. Humbert, State Normal School, Spearfish, South Dakota, June 4, 1920: tablet(s), $35.00; March, 1928: item(s) of unknown description, $85.00. Pres. Robert Slagle, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota, April 10, 1920: tablets, sixtyone (61), $330.00; September 4, 1922; statuettes, $100.00. * Banks, Edgar James, Bismya, or the Lost City of Adab, New York, G.P. Putnam Sons, Knickerbocker Press, 1912. 23
Appendix D: Questionnaire Sumerian Cuneiform Tablets Name/Title: Institution: Address: Telephone: Fax: Email: Do you have cuneiform tablets in your collections? Yes No If yes, how many? Do you have documentation showing how the tablets came to be in your institutions possession? Yes No If yes, were the tablets donated to the institution or purchased by the institution? Please explain. Are the tablets accompanied by a translation? Yes No Does any of your documentation show a connection to Edgar James Banks? Yes No If yes, explain. What are you doing with the tablets? Do you display the tablets? Yes No If yes, explain (permanent, occasionally, etc.) Security? Conservation: Is it acceptable to contact Dr. Ewa Wasilewska about the tablets in your collection? Yes No. Do you have photographs of the tablets? Yes No If yes, would it be possible for me to get a copy? Yes No 24
Appendix E Tablet 1 Found at Drehem, a suburb of Nippur, where there was a receiving station for the temple of Bel. The inscription is a bill for 7 lambs and 4 kid goats delivered on the 4th day of the month. It is dated in the last three lines about 2350 B.C., or early in the Ur dynasty of kings who ruled from about 2400 to 2100 B.C. 25
Appendix F Tablet 2 Found at Drehem. A record of the receipt of five oxen apparently for the temple offerings. Dated about 2350 B.C. Also on one edge is written "5 oxen". 26
Appendix G Tablet 3 Found at Jokha, the ruin of the ancient city of Umma in Central Babylonia. This is a typical record of the temple offerings. After the tablet was written, and while the clay was still soft, the temple scribe rolled over the entire tablet his cylindrical stone seal and the seal impression made it impossible to change the record. The seal impression bears in raised characters the name of the scribe and of his father. It is dated about 2300 B.C 27
Appendix H Tablet 4 Found at Drehem. A temple record, sealed and dated about 2300 B.C. 28
Appendix I Tablet 5 Found at Senkereh, the ruin of the Biblical city of Elassar mentioned in Genesis 14:1. This is a first Babylonian dynasty tablet with an inscription containing a contract or business document. It is dated about the time of Hammurabi, King of Babylon about 2000 B.C. This king was a contemporary of the Biblical Abraham. 29
Appendix J Map of Ancient Mesopotamia. 30