Talk:Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement
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Please see ancient weights and measures for previous edit history and discussions wrt this article.
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[edit] Removed content
- Rktect 8/5/05
- Egil, before you continue cleaning up things you apparently know nothing about
- Why not take a moment and tell us what you know about the subject?
- I would like to see some discussion of standards of measure and the system
- they were based on. Why do you object to that?
- Why do you think its so much more useful to compare Mesopotamian units to English units or
- metric units than the units of their contemporaries such as the Egyptians and immediate
- inheritors such as the Greeks and Romans that you would find it necessary to
- remove those comparisons from the discussion?
- I really don't think you know what's of value and what is not
- but feel safer if you can destroy anything you don't understand
---
I have removed the following content from the article (between the two horizontal bars, below). Some of it may be of value, but in that case, it really needs to be integrated into the existing article in a proper manner, and with references. -- Egil 15:23, 4 August 2005 (UTC)
The Greek root of stadios means to stand or have standing, to establish a standard. The problem was that there were several different standards.
- In Mesopotamia there was the sos = 180 m
- In Egypt the khet was 100 royal cubits
- In Egypt 210 khet were an itrw or hour of travel on the river
- In Egypt 300 Royal cubits were the stadia of Eratosthenes = 157.5 m
- 700 to a degree at Alexandria,
- In Egypt 350 Royal cubits were a Minute of March = 183.75 m
- In Egypt 60 Minutes of March were an atur or Hour of March
- In Persia there were stadia of 700 feet = 222 m
- 500 to a degree on the equator or
- This was the geographic stadia of Marianus of Tyre and Ptolomy
- In Attic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 600 pous = 185 m
- 600 to a degree of 111 km
- In Attic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 600 pous = 185 m
- 600 to a degree of 111 km
- In Ionic Greece a Milos was 8 Stadions of 625 pous = 185 m
- 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km
- In Rome a Milliare of 8 Stadiums of 625 pes = 185 m
- 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km
- In England a Myle of 8 Furlongs of 625 fote = 185 m
- 600 to a degree to a degree of 111 km
[edit] Sumerian lengths
As a collection of city states organized like the Greeks by gene, oinkos and phratre the Sumerians had a plethora of multiple standards. All stated values are in precise unit fractions of a common standard.
| Unit | Measure | Definition | Size |
| digit, finger | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| šusi | little finger | 3/4 uban | 15 mm |
| shusi | ring finger | 5/6 uban | 16.67 mm |
| sheshi | index finger | 17.67 mm | |
| uban | thumb | 20 mm | |
| ell | |||
| šusi ell | short ell | 3 šusi | 45 mm |
| shusi ell | median ell | 3 shusi | 50 mm |
| sheshi ell | long ell | 3 sheshi | 53 mm |
| uban ell | thumb-ell | 3 uban | 60 mm |
| 18 shusi = 15 uban | |||
| palm | |||
| šusi palm | short palm | 4 šusi | 60 mm |
| shusi palm | median palm | 4 shusi | 67 mm |
| sheshi palm | long palm | 4 sheshi | 71 mm |
| uban palm | thumb-palm | 4 uban | 80 mm |
| 24 shusi = 20 uban | |||
| hand, qat | |||
| šusi qat | short hand | 5 šusi | 75 mm |
| shusi qat | median hand | 5 shusi | 84 mm |
| sheshi qat | long hand | 5 sheshi | 88 mm |
| uban qat | thumb-hand | 5 uban | 100 mm |
| 30 shusi = 25 uban | |||
| fist | |||
| šusi fist | short fist | 6 šusi | 90 mm |
| shusi fist | median fist | 6 shusi | 100 mm |
| sheshi fist | long fist | 6 sheshi | 106 mm |
| uban fist | thumb-fist | 6 uban | 120 mm |
| 36 shusi = 30 uban | |||
| span | |||
| šu-dù-a | span (‘hands’ + ‘to stack’) | 10 šusi | 150 mm |
| zipaþ | span | 10 shusi | 167 mm |
| zapaþ šu.bad | span | 10 sheshi | 176 mm |
| zipaþ | span | 10 uban | 200 mm |
| quarter (span of outstretched thumb and little finger) | |||
| ñušur | shaftment | 15 šusi | 220.5 mm |
| šu-dù-a | shaftment | 12 shusi | 250 mm |
| foot | |||
| ñušur | foot | 20 šusi | 300 mm |
| šu-dù-a | foot | ||
| 18 shusi | ≈ 304.8 mm | ||
| 18½ shusi | ≈ 308.4 mm | ||
| ñiš | tool rod | 17 sheshi | 300 mm |
| ñìri | foot | 15 uban = 3 gat = ½ cubit | 300 mm |
| cubit | |||
| ku | ordinary cubit | 30 shusi= 25 uban= 6 ordinary qat= 5 long qat | 500 mm |
| kus | cubit | 36 shusi = 30 uban | 600 mm |
| kùš | ‘hand’ + ‘arm’ | ||
| hand and forearm, as a unit of measurement, ell/cubit | |||
| šu-da | ell/cubit | 2 gat of a cubit of 5 gat divided into 30 shusi | |
| double remen | |||
| ñìr | step; way, path | 60 shusi = 50 uban | = 1 m |
| kùš-numun | 2 ñiš-bad | = 1 m | |
| ñidri+ uru9 | ‘support’; úr, ‘leg(s)’; pace | = 1.5 m | |
| ñìri…gub | to step on ‘foot’ + ‘to stand’ | = 3 m | |
| qanu | 6 ammat | = 3.6 m | |
| še ñiš-è-a | ‘grain’ + ‘stick’ + ‘to exit from’ + nominative | harvested grain that has just been threshed and only roughly measured with a stick | |
| gi | reed (circular + to sprout) | 6 cubits | = 3 m |
| éše, éš[šè] | rope; measuring tape/cord | 10 nindan rods = 20 reeds = 120 cubits | |
| Area measure square roots | |||
| side of the ordinary iku | 60 ordinary kù | 30 m | |
| side of the ordinary iku | 60 qanu = 1/6 sos | ||
| side of the great iku | 60 qanu | 36 m | |
| Other | |||
| sos | = 360 ganu | ≈ 180 m | |
| parasang | = 30 sos | ≈ 5.4 km | |
| kapsu | = 2 parasang | ≈ 10.8 km | |
[edit] Sumerian area measure
- 1 uzalag
- 1 uzalak: = 1/4 of an iku = 25 sar
- 1 še: barley; grain; = 432 square linear barleycorns = 12 square uban
- 1 ubu : = 1/2 of an iku (= 50 sar).
- 1 sar:
- 1 šar: 'garden plot' = 1 square ninda
- 1 square ninda = 60 surface shekels = 1/100 iku
- 1 square ninda = 4 square reeds = 144 square cubits
- 1 iku: = 3600 meters2 = 100 sar = 1 square 'rope' = 1/18 bùr
- (plural Akk. form of ég, ék, 'levee').
- 1 éše, = 120 1/2 cubits or feet = the side of 1 square iku in area
- éš[ŠÈ]: = 6 iku; leash (can be an adverbial suffix like eš)
- (eš, 'much', + eš, 'much') [ŠE3 archaic frequency: 152].
- nindan,
- ninda: rod = 12 cubits (kùš) = 6 meters; one side of a sar
- šar, 'garden plot' square measure
- from Akk. middatu, mindatu, 'to measure'
[edit] Sumerian volume measure
- 1 gur = 1 square ninda times 1 kùš = 144 kùš3
- 1 gur = 18 cubic meters
- 1 bariga = 60 gur PI or UL in Old Sumerian period
- 1 bariga = 36 sìla in the Old Sumerian period
- 1 bán-rig-a = 6 bán. 'the bán from picking, gleaning'
- 1 èše: = 6 iku.
- 1 bùr: = 18 iku = 3 éše = 1800 sar
- the amount of land that supported a family
- 1 bùru from Akkadian buuru IV, "hunger",
- bii/eeru IV, "space, distance"
- gána, gán: tract of land, field parcel;
- (flat) surface, plane; measure of surface; shape, outline;
- cultivation = iku = gan- field" GAN2
- 1 ma-na-tur: little mina = 1/3 shekel = 60 surface še = 720 square uban
- 1 a-ñá-ri-in: a flat area measured in sar
- 1 ñarim
- 1 A-ñar:
- 1 e5-ñar
- 1 gín-tur: little shekel = 1/60 shekel = 1/3600 square nindan
- 1 sar = 3 surface še = 36 square fingers
- 1 sar = surface of the side of a cube of 1 sìla capacity.
[edit] Akkadian length
- 1 ŠU.BAD: 'open hand' = 12 šusi = 220 mm = 8.66"
- 1 ammat cubit of 530 mm - 20.87 a unit of wheat or barley measure
- 1 ammatu := 6 long qat= 600 mm
- 1 ÑIŠ-BAD: =1 kùš. 600 mm
- 1 UŠ: = 6 ropes = 60 nindan rods.
[edit] Akkadian area
- 2 AŠ: = 1/2 of an iku (= 50 sar).
- 1 iku: = 3600 meters2 = 100 sar = 1 square 'rope'
- 1 iku = 1/18 bùr plural Akk. form of ég, ék, 'levee'
- 1 éš[ŠÈ]: = 120 cubits = the side of 1 square iku in area
[edit] Akkadian volume
- 1 bariga = 60 sìla in the Old Akkadian and Neo-Sumerian periods.
[edit] Cleanup
This article is not in Wiki format and is difficult to read. Xaa 23:39, 5 August 2005 (UTC)
