Mesopotamia, 1500–539 BC

Rows of wedge-shaped marks cover the clay tablets. Some record administration, while others preserve literature and learning. The Flood Tablet carries part of the story of Gilgamesh and came from the library of Ashurbanipal, the seventh-century BC king of Assyria. The room covers Mesopotamia between 1500 and 539 BC, including Assyrian and Babylonian material. Boundary stones record royal grants of land. Their text and images gave a durable form to claims and obligations. The Map of the World offers another way to organize knowledge on a small clay surface. A tablet’s size can hide the amount of work and information it holds. Look at how tightly the writing fits, then consider the readers who had to recognize the signs and know what kind of text they were handling.