What did a classroom look like in ancient Babylonia four millennia ago?
In short: Explore the daily life of students in 1740 BCE. This lecture examines how young learners mastered cuneiform and the broader goals of an education system designed to cultivate a specialized scribal class.
The lecture centers on House F, a site in Nippur unearthed during a collaborative dig by Chicago and Pennsylvania researchers in the early 1950s. Long considered a dedicated space for instruction, this building provided a wealth of cuneiform tablets that reveal the specific curriculum and training methods of the era.
Beyond the mechanics of literacy, the discussion addresses the societal purpose of schooling. By analyzing artifacts from the site, the presentation explores how formal training shaped the scribal elite, offering a window into the professional and intellectual development of individuals in the Old Babylonian period.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Back to School in Babylonia: The Aims of Babylonian Education | Susanne Paulus, ISAC
- Also: Back to School in Babylonia
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