Getty Lecture: “Clues in Cuneiform: Lives Revealed in Ancient Records of Mesopotamia”

Historian Amanda Podany explores cuneiform records and archaeological finds to illuminate the lives of three Mesopotamians who lived between 2300 and 1700 BC. She tells fascinating tales of Enheduanna, a high priestess and poet, and the world’s first known author; Pagirum, a scribe who learned to write cuneiform texts in school and became a trusted member of his community; and Hammurabi, king of Babylon. Knowledge about their concerns and beliefs was lost for millennia; their lives only became known again when the documents written during their lifetimes were found, translated, and analyzed.