Computational Models for Analyzing Data Collected from Reconstructed Cuneiform Syllabaries

This study used three interdependent techniques to help understand the use and distribution of syllabic values of the cuneiform signs during the second half of the third millennium and early second millennium BCE. The results suggest that, during this period, cuneiform syllabaries were variable. That variation can further inform us about the regional, temporal, and dialectical contexts in which they existed. The addition of this research to the wider literature on the early adaptation of cuneiform enhances the field's understanding of how cuneiform syllabic values began to emerge and spread across the ancient Near East, and demonstrates how computational methods of analysis can be applied to research questions in humanities subjects.