Text, context, and the social dimension of writing: A case study from the Early Dynastic temple of Inanna at Nippur

In this article, I propose a holistic interpreta- tion of a well-defined corpus of third millennium BC in- scribed artefacts, focusing on the relationships between text (format and content), the artefact, and its original destination and deposition. I aim to underline the social dimension of inscribed objects and, in general, of writing in votive depositional contexts. As a case study, I have focused on the inscribed artefacts found in level VIIB of the Inanna Temple at Nippur. This small corpus of approximately twenty-two objects shows many peculiarities, most prominent of which are the high number of female donors and the lack of royal inscriptions.