The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-01-06

sition is by no means primitive! The date of this
book is 1890 B. c.
Geography was taught, as astronomy and
history In the collection is the oldest history yet
found, tablet giving the list of Babylonian kings
going back to the flood. The claim Is that it Is q
record of $4,000 years; but this may be disputed
since the names of the monarchs, which seem to
be those Of men who reigned successfully, may ba
of men who ruled simultaneously, in kingdoms
that adjacent A conservative estimate is
that this history covers $4,000 years.
There IS book botany, teaching the people
how to raise the date palm, an important crop of
the times. Agricultural books abound for the
temple had q collegiate department, just as have
Cornell and other American universities, where
scientific farming was taught The Babylonans,
as is we'll known, were remarkable engineers and
past masters in the field of irrigation. It is not
surprising that Doctor Langdon has found many
records of this in the museums Babylonian col
lection. We learn, again, of canals being dug,
and Of a tablet that chronicles the opening of a
great waterway like the Panama canal--the cele-
bration over it. the presence Of the king and the
pride felt in the great skill of its engineers.
Further documents are reported verifying prevI-
Gus assertions that the Babylonian woman re-
ceived education equal to mans, took her place
with him in certain lines, and was compensated
with the same wage as he.
BOOKS Itdu no cases anu Wnen 1OuuQ are often
crumbled broken, cracked or so badly Clipped
that parts of the translation must be guessed at
or omitted entirely Others, fortunately are found
intact
Letters, on the other hand were sent in en-
velopes also of clay. When the tablet letter had
been duly inscribed and signed, it was rolled in
q fine clay powder and slipped into hollow clay
pocket. More clay dust then shaken in, so
that layers Of powder were packed about the con-
tents of the pocket and the letter could not get
rubbed scratched. The clay opening was then
sealed and stamped with the senders ring.
Afterward, the address was added and slave
dispatched with it. Later we know that Baby
lonian and Sumerian governments supported regu-
lar postal systems 1t is quite possible that that
regime was in existence in 1900 B. G.
Many letters are found with seals unbroken,
and these marvellousy preserved In their soft
powdered pads. We can only surlnise the reason
for their sealed state. Perhaps man kept sealed
copies of the most important letters he had to
write. Duplicate copies Of records and transac-
tons have been unearthed, sometimes miles apart;
and the same practice could have held nationally
of letters.
Some of these letters may never have been
delivered, thanks to an inefficient postal service
in some particular locality or, and this is more
plausible the breaking out Of frequent revolutions
. could have conceivably crippled the Babylonian
post Offices and left many letters forever unde-
livered
Individually the Oldest undeIivered letter In the
world is in the Babylonlan collection Of the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania museum. It's Gate would
be 2200 B. c., and Doctor Langdon opened and
read 1t only last week
1t is from master TO his slave or to some I'M
derling or employee. Obviously it is only one of
several letters since 1t refers to previous corre-
spondence and to previous transaction over
which the writer is perturbed. Its archaic SD
merriam is dctatorial, overhearing and peevish,
and rants of some unsatisfactory -four deal that
the underllng has undertaken. One wonders
whatever became of that -four
Other tablets now being catalogued have pic
lures ON them One, a hunting scene, reminds
one of the prehistoric cave drawings found in
France. There is another of battle scene, very
much broken but rare and interesting.
The coming of Doctor Langdon to the Universi-
ty of Pennsylvania museum is timely and for
tunate The Babylonian division has had no GU