Toward an Ontology of the
Sumerian Language
F. D’Agostino – S. Alivernini – C.M. Scalzo
Sumer at the End of the IIIrd Mill. BC
Core and Periphery of Sumer
Uruk IV (3200 BC ca)
Uruk III (3100 BC ca)
Early Dynastic I-II (2900-2650 BC ca)
Early Dynastic I-II (2900-2650 BC ca)
Early Dynastic III (2650-2350 BC ca)
Ur III (2112-2004 BC)
Ur III (2112-2004 BC)
Old Babylonian Period (2000-1500 BC ca)
Agglutination
Latin: filiis; *fili-is
*-is = 1) plur.; 2) dat.; 3) masc.
*dumu-(3)nita2-(1)ene-(2)ra
Ergativity
lugal-e e2-Ø in(= i+n)-du3-Ø
lugal-Ø i3-gin-Ø
The king built a temple
The king went
rex templum exstruxit
rex ivit
The king built a temple
The king went
Verbal Incorporation
The king drank beer in the garden with the general
lugal-e1 kaš-Ø2 šagina-da3 giškiri6-a4
*i-n+da3-b+a4-n1-nag-Ø2
(FINITE VERB)-him+with-it+in-he(past, cl. A)-drink-(it)
Ontology
T-Box

• Concepts
• Hierarchy among the
concepts
• Properties of
concepts
A-Box

• Facts
Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box
A-Box

Grammatical Rules

All the Sumerian texts
Our Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box

A-Box

The grammar of one text
The brick foundation of
Ur-Namma king of Ur
Our Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box

Nominal_Chain
Possessive
Case_Marker
Verbal_Chain
Prefix
Dimensional_Infix
Pronominal_Infix
A-Box

a-ni : Possessive
mu : Prefix
Brick foundation of Ur-Namma
(2112-2095 BC)
dNanna
lugal-a-ni
Ur-dNamma
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4
e2-a-ni
mu-na-du3
bad3-Urim5ki-ma
mu-na-du3
Transliteration and Translation
dNanna
To the God Nanna,
lugal-a-ni
his king,
Ur-dNamma
Ur-Namma,
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4
the king of Ur,
e2-a-ni
his temple
mu-na-du3
built,
bad3-Urim5ki-ma
the walls of Ur
mu-na-du3
built.
Grammar of the Text
dNanna
noun (= god) + (dative case)
lugal-a-ni
noun (= substantive) + possessive adjective (a-ni)
Ur-dNamma
noun (= personal name)
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4
noun (= substantive) + genitive (noun = city+ ak) +
ergative
noun (substantive) + possessive adjective (a-ni)
e2-a-ni
mu-na-du3
bad3-Urim5ki-ma
mu-na-du3
verbal chain: prefix (mu) + dimensional infix (na) +
verb (du3)
noun (substantive) + genitive (city + a<k>)
verbal chain: prefix (mu) + dimensional infix (na) +
verb (du3)
Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
• Final report (in pdf format): “Progetto ME.
L’ontologia
di
una
grammatica
sumerica”
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1683/ab0002)
• Ontology in OWL format:
(http://dx.doi.org/10.1683/me0004)
Ur_Namma.owl
Dhi Qar project
Project purposes
The Dhi Qar project aims at proposing a new
way to manage archaeological and
epigraphic finds by developing a
knowledge-based cataloguing system
Knowledge base
• Knowledge about archaeological and epigraphic finds is
represented in a knowledge base.
• The knowledge base describes finds in a logical way by
representing their characteristics.
• Knowledge is represented as a set of concepts and their
relationships (i.e., an ontology)
Knowledge base
Find
Tablet
Envelop
Stamp
Knowledge base
Find
has
Shape
Size
Height
has
Width
Altitude
is made of
Material
Knowledge base
• More information about finds:
– Epigraphic characteristics
– Visual characteristics
– Dating and origin
–…
Knowledge base
– The use of a knowledge base provides the opportunity to
systematically integrate the points of view from different
disciplines.
– Both categories specification and observational criteria are
defined by scientists of all contemplated disciplines (archeology,
epigraphy, ...)
– This knowledge is represented by using a formal system
(Description Logics), which provides reasoning capabilities to
follow the relations across the information structures, thus
deriving more knowledge
Accessing the knowledge base
• The presence of a knowledge base makes possible to ask queries in
order to facilitate the access to the catalogue
• As an example, it will be possible to ask for all the scholastic tablets
from a given period having circular shape.
• In the same way, it will be possible to ask for all the stamps having
cylindrical shape and representing human figures
Input forms change dynamically with respect to the features of the find
For each find in the catalogue, the user can also see a (logic-based) graphical
representation of its features
Contact:
c.m.scalzo@epistematica.com