Wax Boards and Parchment in Third Millennium Mesopotamia

This paper examines new philological evidence on writing, drawing and painting on materials other than clay in third millennium Mesopotamia. After a review of the testimonies about wax in Sumerian sources, it is demonstrated for the first time that wooden wax-covered boards were used in the Ur III period to draw plans. Likewise, it is shown that ivory boards covered with wax, intended for writing and drawing, were manufactured in the capital city of Ur. Finally, new evidence on parchment is discussed, a material on which a map or a canal plan was painted, the use of which might be traced back to the Sargonic period.Peer reviewe