What is CDLI? -------------------- The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) is an international digital library project aimed at putting text and images of an estimated 500,000 recovered cuneiform tablets created from between roughly 3350 BC and the end of the pre-Christian era online. The initiative is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Oxford, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin. This dataset includes the full CDLI catalogue (metadata), transliterations of tablets in the catalogue, and word/sign lists from old akkadian and Ur III. This data was downloaded on the 9th of May 2017. Transliterations are in .atf format, find out more about this format here: [http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/doc/help/editinginatf/cdliatf/index.html][1] Find more about CDLI here: [http://cdli.ucla.edu/][2] What is Cuneiform? -------------------- Cuneiform script, one of the earliest systems of writing, was invented by the Sumerians. It is distinguished by its wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets, made by means of a blunt reed for a stylus. The name cuneiform itself simply means "wedge shaped". Cuneiform is not a language, nor is it an alphabet. Cuneiform uses between 600-1000 characters to write words or syllables. It has been used by many different cultural groups to represent many different languages, but it was primarily used to write Sumerian and Akkadian. Deciphering cuneiform is very difficult to this day, though the difficulty varies depending on the language. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script][3] What is Assyriology? -------------------- Assyriology is the study of the languages, history, and culture of the people who used the ancient writing system called cuneiform. Cuneiform was used primarily in an area called the Near East, centred on Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and eastern Syria) where cuneiform was invented, but including the Northern Levant (Western Syria and Lebanon), parts of Anatolia, and western Iran. The sources for Assyriology are all archaeological, and include both inscribed and uninscribed objects. Most Assyriologists focus on the rich textual record from the ancient Near East, and specialise in either the study of language, literature, or history of the ancient Near East. Assyriology began as an academic discipline with the recovery of the monuments of ancient Assyria, and the decipherment of cuneiform, in the middle of the 19th century. Large numbers of archaeological objects, including texts, were brought to museums in Europe and later the US, following the early excavations of Nineveh, Kalhu, Babylon, Girsu, Assur and so forth. Today Assyriology is studied in universities across the globe, both as an undergraduate and a graduate subject, and knowledge from the ancient Near East informs students of numerous other disciplines such as the History of Science, Archaeology, Classics, Biblical studies and more. [1]: http://oracc.museum.upenn.edu/doc/help/editinginatf/cdliatf/index.html [2]: http://cdli.ucla.edu/ [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuneiform_script