Lost in Translation: From Ancient Sumeria to Sacramento State
Why would a 5,000-year-old artifact have no written record?
Tucked away in the southwest area of Sacramento State’s library building, there is an inconspicuous room with a top-notch alarm system few have access to. Once inside, there are several vaults that require a code and key to enter. Even President Nelsen would be questioned on the spot if he entered without clearance.
It’s not dollars or gold that is tucked away in the Department of Special Collections and University Archives, but donated research materials, first-edition novels and Sac State memorabilia.
One of the first forms of written language resides in a temperature controlled room in the department. The etchings on dried clay don’t look like much at first, but it is called “cuneiform” and dates back to 3,000 B.C. when ancient people used tablets to keep city records.
The only thing known about the 5,000-year-old artifact is that it was possibly excavated in the late 1960s or early 1970s. An unidentified gentleman teaching at UC Berkeley then translated the text in the 1980s after it was already on campus, says university archivist Julie Thomas.
Thomas has a hunch, although not proven; the cuneiform flew under the university’s radar because of the significance of the Vietnam Wars (1954 to 1975) in people’s minds. It has been reported that almost 260 soldiers from the Sacramento region were fighting overseas.
Sacramento State history professor Nikolaos Lazaridis says there are two theories (based on hearsay): a wealthy Davis man purchased the cuneiform on the black market when he was living overseas. The second, a Sac State archeology professor excavated the cuneiform and deemed it “archaeologically insignificant,” then brought it back to campus.
“Nothing is insignificant, but back then you could do something like that and get away with it. Every little piece counts. It’s important, especially as Californians, that have that little access to that world in the Mediterranean and the Near East. I think it’s important to get some sort of a taste, however magical that sounds — just being near it,” Lazaridis says.
“The problem is, that when pieces are taken out of their original archaeological context, it makes it really difficult for us to understand what they are if we don’t know where they come from,” Lazaridis says.
Jessica Hice — — jessicahice@csus.edu
