"Inanna's Descent to the Netherworld": A centennial survey of scholarship, artifacts, and translations
Creators: name: Dedovic, Boban
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2020
Subjects: subject: 210103 Archaeology of Asia, Africa and the Americas
subject: FOS: History and archaeology
subject: FOS: History and archaeology
subject: 160304 Mortality
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: 200202 Asian Cultural Studies
subject: FOS: Other humanities
subject: FOS: Other humanities
subject: 200523 Middle Eastern Literature
subject: FOS: Languages and literature
subject: FOS: Languages and literature
subject: Literature
subject: Archaeology

description: <b>Abstract</b>An ancient Sumerian proverb may be read as “good fortune [is embedded in] organisation and wisdom.” <sup>1</sup> The present centennial survey is solely about organizing the last one hundred years of scholarship for a Sumerian afterlife myth named “Inanna’s Descent to the Netherworld.” The initial discovery of artifacts with snippets of the myth can be dated to as early as 1889. English translations of the myth emerged around 1920 and were followed by numerous archaeological expeditions and subsequent translation efforts. Such efforts, by many scholars and institutions, resulted in an authoritative 2001 version of the myth published by the University of Oxford via the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL). The 2001 version, titled “Inana’s descent to the nether world” is 412 lines long and utilizes over fifty cuneiform artifacts (sources). The impact of this work has been mainstream and interdisciplinary interest in Inanna, the myth, and her role in antiquity. However, the technical nature of studying ancient Sumer may alienate a broader audience. The survey contained herein attempts to organize and explain the key people, concepts, events, and institutions involved with the discovery of “Inanna’s Descent.” Non-technical readers can expect to learn how and why we arrived at the likely complete translation we have today. Light background information and a chronology of scholarly work are followed by a brief discussion on promising areas of further research. The appendix contains a comprehensive catalog of referenced artifact data.<br>[1] Jeremy A. Black and Graham E. Cunningham, “Proverbs: Collection 1,” The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature (ETCSL), <i>University of Oxford (1998-2003)</i>, last modified June 13, 2002, http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/proverbs/t.6.1.01.html. [Segment A, No. 25]<br><b>Dedication</b><b><br></b><i>For Huey</i><br><br><b>Contents</b><br>FiguresTablesIntroductionBackgroundScholarship Chronology Discovery and Initial Publication (1889-1919) More Artifacts and Assignments (1920-1934) Kramer’s First Wave (1935-1951) New Artifacts and Commentary (1952-1973) The First Semi-Complete Translation (1974-1996) The Digital Age (1997-2006) Current Scholarship (2007-2019)The Future of ID (2020 and Beyond)ConclusionAppendix A: Artifacts Table and VisualizationsAppendix B: All Artifact DataAppendix C: Translations of “Inanna’s Descent”Bibliography<br><b>Figures</b><br>Figure 1.1. Sumer in MesopotamiaFigure 1.2. Cylinder Seal VA 243Figure 1.3. Mask of WarkaFigure 1.4. Warka VaseFigure 1.5. Inanna’s Family TreeFigure 1.6. Table illustrating the simplification of cuneiform signsFigure 1.7. Artifact terminology tableFigure 1.8. Three of the ‘big five’ scholars of IDFigure 2.1. Artifact CBS 9800Figure 2.2. Artifact YPM BC 018686 (formerly YBC 4621)Figure 2.3. Artifact UET VI 9 (6/1 9)Figure 2.4. Sladek’s published artifacts<br><b>Tables</b><br>Table 1.1. Artifact waterfall view of cuneiform sources for “Inanna’s Descent” (abridged)Table 2.1. Detail artifact table for “Inanna’s Descent”Table 2.2. Artifact waterfall view of cuneiform sources for “Inanna’s Descent” (full)Table 3.1. Top translation publications of “Inanna’s Descent” (1900-2019)<br><b>*Updates</b>Feb. 2020: Per inquiries, I uploaded a compressed (reduced size) version of the PDF file.--Boban DedovićUniversity of Maryland, College ParkReleased on May 22, 2019