Sumerian Addenda Β· Signs
month
| Name | ITI |
|---|---|
| Reads | [iti] |
| Means | month β the day-sign with thirty tucked inside |
| Taught in | 13 Β· You are |
Where it comes from
Look closely: it is the day-sign π with a thirty tucked inside β a month IS thirty days, drawn as exactly that. The workhorse of every dated receipt: iti such-and-such, βmonth of β¦,β names the slot in the civil calendar.
How to remember it
A month is a box of days: the day-sign made into a container, the number thirty rattling inside. When a tablet needs a date, it reaches for the box first, then names which box.
In the wild
urn:nabu:cdli:p100219:reverse:3 Β·
license: attribution.
Piece by piece:
- iti β month: the box of days
- a2-ki-ti β of the Akiti, Urβs great festival
A bookkeeper dates a delivery by the festival everyone knew. The line is read in 102βs chapter 13.