Glosses and Embedded Variants in Mesopotamian Therapeutic Texts

András Bácskay’s investigation focuses on collecting and analysing glosses and so-called ‘embedded variants’ attested in therapeutic prescriptions. In addition, references attested in lists of amulet stones were also discussed as an excursus.

The purpose of this work is twofold: first, to provide an edition of the relevant text material, and second to analyse the functional and semantic concerns connected to the use of glosses and embedded variants in therapeutic texts. The importance of this topic is shown clearly by the fact that besides the medical commentary texts, the glosses and embedded variants constitute the largest group of sources that may shed light on the ways and methods of cuneiform science in medical texts. This study primarily focuses on references attested in the published text material; references have been checked by collation of the original cuneiform tablets or at least from photos of the original tablet.

This book consists of four main thematic parts and an appendix. The first part provides a summary of the relevant texts, including tables of the references segmented by the provenance of the tablets. The second part will present transliterations and translations of the relevant therapeutic prescriptions under study in score editions. Each prescription discussed in this part include the following main elements: transliteration and English translation of the prescription, illustrations (photos and hand-copies) of the glosses or embedded variants appearing in the text, descriptions of the glosses or embedded variants in terms of the formal and functional subtypes, commentaries (which includes the interpretation of the references) and finally the relevant literature discussing the prescription. The third main part deals with the analysis of the references. This entails not only a simple formal and functional typology, but also a description of the semantic connection between each gloss and glossed term as well as possible reasons why the gloss was added. In the excursus (chapter four), the references from the amulet stone lists are elaborated. The appendix includes three parts: 1) a general description of the cuneiform tablets containing glosses or embedded variants in terms of museum number, publication, provenience and content, 2) the index of cuneiform texts with glosses or embedded variants edited in this book and 3) the index of embedded variants, glosses and glossed terms.

Introduction

Who wrote glosses or embedded variants in therapeutic texts and why?

1. Description of the text corpus

1.1 General descriptions

1.2 Tablets from Nineveh

1.3 Tablets from Aššur

1.4 Tablet from Kalḫu

1.5 Tablets from Babylon and Uruk

1.6 Tablets of uncertain provenance

2. Transliteration and translation of the relevant prescriptions

2.1 The therapeutic series tablets

2.1.1 The cranium

2.1.2 The eyes

2.1.3 The ears

2.1.4 The stomach

2.1.5 The bronchia

2.1.6 The anus

2.2 Glosses and embedded variants in other therapeutic tablets

2.2.1 Head problems

2.2.2 Ear problems

2.2.3 Teeth problems

2.2.4 Bu’šānu-disease

2.2.5 Foot problems

2.2.6 Skin problems

2.2.7 Kidney problems (ḫiniqtu)

2.2.8 Internal problems

2.2.9 Respiratory problems

2.2.10 Diseases particular to women

2.2.11 Ghost

2.2.12 Sorcery

2.2.13 Uncertain

2.2.14 Further addition (after completion of the manuscript)

3. Analysis of the references

3.1 The formal perspective

3.2 The functional perspective

3.3 The semantic topics of the references

3.4 Types of semantic connections

3.5 Conclusion

4. Excursus: Glosses and embedded variants in amulet stone lists

5. Appendix

5.1 Description of the cuneiform tablets

5.2 Index of cuneiform texts edited in this book

5.3 Index of terms (embedded variants, glossed words, glosses)

Bibliography