シュメール人の問題
令和7年2月5日|p.147
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The Sumerian Problem
By I. J. GELB
University of Chicago
THE SUMERIAN PROBLEM is one of the most difficult and controversial problems in the field of ancient Near Eastern studies. The main reason for this situation lies in the fact that we have no direct evidence concerning the language spoken by the people who invented cuneiform writing.
The only way to approach this problem is through the study of the earliest known texts written in cuneiform script. These texts are mostly economic documents from the city of Uruk, dating back to around 3200 BCE.
Despite extensive research over many decades, scholars still disagree on whether these early texts represent a fully developed language or merely a proto-writing system used for accounting purposes.
This paper aims to review recent developments in our understanding of the Sumerian problem and propose new directions for future research based on comparative linguistic analysis and archaeological findings.