Cuneiform Numbers and Punctuation


In Unicode, the Sumero-Akkadian Cuneiform script is covered in three blocks in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane :
The sample glyphs in the chart file published by the Unicode Consortium show the characters in their Classical Sumerian form. The characters as written during the 2nd and 1st millennia BCE, the era during which the vast majority of cuneiform texts were written, are considered font variants of the same characters.

Organization

The final proposal for Unicode encoding of the script was submitted by two cuneiform scholars working with an experienced Unicode proposal writer in June 2004.
The base character inventory is derived from the list of Ur III signs compiled by the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative of UCLA based on the inventories of Miguel Civil, Rykle Borger, and Robert Englund. Rather than opting for a direct ordering by glyph shape and complexity, according to the numbering of an existing catalogue, the Unicode order of glyphs was based on the Latin alphabetic order of their 'main' Sumerian transliteration as a practical approximation.

Block

Signs

The following table allows matching of Borger's 1981 and 2003 numbering with Unicode characters
The "primary" transliteration column has the glyphs' Sumerian values as given by the official glyph name, slightly modified here for legibility by including traditional assyriological symbols such as "x" rather than "TIMES". The exact Unicode names can be unambiguously recovered by prefixing,
"CUNEIFORM SIGN", replacing "TIMES" for "x", "PLUS" for "+" and "OVER" for "/", "ASTERISK" for "*", "H" for "Ḫ", "SH" for "Š", and switching to uppercase.
SignCode pointNameBorger
Borger
Comments
U+12400two AŠ00222, = U+1212C
U+12401three AŠ0043, EŠ6
U+12402four AŠ215124,424, LIMMU2, LIMM2, TAB.TAB
U+12403five AŠ2165, IA7, TAB.TAB.AŠ
U+12404six AŠ2176, AŠ4, TAB.TAB.TAB
U+12405seven AŠ2187, IMIN2, TAB.TAB.TAB.AŠ
U+12406eight AŠ2198, USSU2, TAB.TAB.TAB.TAB
U+12407nine AŠ2209, ILIMMU2, TAB.TAB.TAB.TAB.AŠ
U+12408three DIŠ834593180, EŠ5
U+12409four DIŠ851; 852; 853316240, ZA, LIMMU5, NIGIDALIMMU, = U+1235D
U+1240Afive DIŠ861598a300, IA2
U+1240Bsix DIŠ862598b360, AŠ3
U+1240Cseven DIŠ863598c420
U+1240Deight DIŠ864598d480
U+1240Enine DIŠ540
U+1240Ffour U71347440, NIMIN
U+12410five U71447550, NINNU
U+12411six U71547660
U+12412seven U71647770
U+12413eight U71747880
U+12414nine U71847990
U+12415one GEŠ2
U+12416two GEŠ2
U+12417three GEŠ2
U+12418four GEŠ2
U+12419five GEŠ2
U+1241Asix GEŠ2
U+1241Bseven GEŠ2
U+1241Ceight GEŠ2
U+1241Dnine GEŠ2
U+1241Eone GEŠU824534GEŠ2.U; 600 or 70
U+1241Ftwo GEŠU1200 or 80
U+12420three GEŠU1800 or 90
U+12421four GEŠU2400 or 100
U+12422five GEŠU3000 or 110
U+12423two ŠAR2
U+12424three ŠAR2
U+12425three ŠAR2 variant form
U+12426four ŠAR2
U+12427five ŠAR2
U+12428six ŠAR2
U+12429seven ŠAR2
U+1242Aeight ŠAR2
U+1242Bnine ŠAR2
U+1242Cone ŠARU65340936,000
U+1242Dtwo ŠARU72,000
U+1242Ethree ŠARU108,000
U+1242Fthree ŠARU variant form108,000
U+12430four ŠARU144,000
U+12431five ŠARU180,000
U+12432ŠAR2 x GAL.DIŠ651408216,000
U+12433ŠAR2 x GAL.MIN652408432,000
U+12434one BURU662350,8U gunû
U+12435two BURU
U+12436three BURU
U+12437three BURU variant form
U+12438four BURU
U+12439five BURU
U+1243AEŠ165053, = U+1203C
U+1243BEŠ212103
U+1243CLIMMU859; 8604, NIG2, GAR, NINDA
U+1243DLIMMU45064
U+1243E
U+1243F
U+12440AŠ95366, EŠ16.EŠ16
U+12441IMIN35377, UMUN9
U+12442IMIN8637
U+12443IMIN variant form8667
U+12444USSU8678
U+12445USSU35388
U+12446ILIMMU8689
U+12447ILIMMU35399, EŠ16.EŠ16.EŠ16
U+12448ILIMMU45779
U+12449DIŠ / DIŠ / DIŠ865v9
U+1244Atwo AŠ tenû593
U+1244Bthree AŠ tenû629
U+1244Cfour AŠ tenû854379; 380ZA tenû, ERIM tenû
U+1244Dfive AŠ tenû
U+1244Esix AŠ tenû
U+1244Fone BAN2122= U+12047
U+12450two BAN2
U+12451three BAN2
U+12452four BAN2
U+12453four BAN2 variant form
U+12454five BAN2
U+12455five BAN2 variant form
U+12456NIGIDAMIN847, 848
U+12457NIGIDAEŠ850
U+12458one EŠE3= U+12041, U+12300
U+12459two EŠE3= U+12049
U+1245Aone third826571ŠUŠANA
U+1245Btwo thirds832572
U+1245Cfive sixths838573KINGUSILA
U+1245Done third variant form
U+1245Etwo thirds variant form
U+1245Fone eighth
U+12460one quarter
U+12461Old Assyrian one sixth630Kültepe only
U+12462Old Assyrian one quarter
U+12470Old Assyrian word divider
U+12471vertical colon592Glossenkeil
U+12472diagonal colon592Glossenkeil
U+12473diagonal tricolon

History

The following Unicode-related documents record the purpose and process of defining specific characters in the Cuneiform Numbers and Punctuation block:

Font packages