From Oral Promise to Written Receipt

A Cognitive Study of the Use of Mnemonics within Ancient Administration*

Bonnie Nilhamn
National Museum of Antiquity, Leiden

Introduction Seen as a tool for verication, the receipt is an example of an item that is given a certain place in the legal literature and within the economy. This short paper aims to expand on the nature of providing proof, its importance in current and ancient societies, and its relationship to the cognitive development of the human mind. This case study will further combine contemporary research on the development of symbolism and non-textual communication within law and accountancy by such scholars as M. Donald,1 M. Malul2 and B. Hibbits.3 The receipt has an important role within the administration both on a micro level for the individual person and on a macro level for the whole society, including the city. It was no coincidence that the rst written documents in the fourth millennium were receipts and inventories of goods as part of the bookkeeping.4 The emerge of the physical receipt reflects the society and the change towards a increasingly complex economy. Without commonly accepted verications no economical activities could exist. We must not be blinded by the modern terminology of the receipt5 as a static object but rather acknowledge that it rather was a dynamic
* I am grateful to the participants of the 53rd RAI for their useful comments and criticisms given. Responsibility for the views expressed herein rests with the author. 1 Donald 1991; 2001. 2 Malul 1987; 1988. 3 I wish to express my gratitude to Prof. Vermaak who after my speech in St. Petersburg made me aware of the works of Prof. B. J. Hibbits. Especially the article Coming to Our Senses (1992) has turned out to be a valuable source of comparative references. 4 Englund 2004. 5 receipt. MerriamWebsters Dictionary of Law. MerriamWebster, Inc. 10 Apr. 2008. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/receipt>.

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concept that incorporated several aspects and could take different forms in which all ve senses are involved and also necessary. This paper will argue that, through time the oral tradition has moved towards a written tradition. However, the oral tradition did not disappear completely, but became embedded within the new tradition. Throughout the ancient Near Eastern societies used comparable forms of communication and legal expressions. However, this does not make them identical in all respects. The major difculty with studying ancient cultures relates to selectiveness of our sources. Much of what we know is a result of what the ancient societies chose to write down (or draw). Unfortunately the common knowledge, that was obvious for the ancient people themselves (but not for us) was never consciously written down. This can be supplemented with anthropological and ethnographical research from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which has yielded a signicant body of information on communication and legal expression within non- or preliterate societies. With caution, we may use this as comparative material.6 Further, we must question ourselves as to how we read these sources, and not be stuck in a former bias of how we should interpret our (legal) material. Scholars such as M. Roth, R. Westbrook and M. Malul have shown that nding a clear answer is never easy because there is no single way to achieve it.7 The human cognitive development To understand why the need arose for a receipt or verication we have to turn our attention to the human mind.8 Within the eld of accountancy and record keeping the cognitive idea of Merlin Donald is of special interest.9 He believes that the cognitive development of the brain made it possible for abstract thinking to develop.10 In the same way we can assume that this development also can be seen in the legal material. The development of legal and administrative practices should be seen as part of this broader cognitive development. Since the Upper-Palaeolithic period, human cultures have gone through major transformations. They have been transformed from hunter-gatherer societies dominated by oral-mythic traditions, mimetic ritual and narrative
In this paper however no such sources have been used in any larger extent. Roth 2001; Westbrook 2003; Malul 1987. 8 Connerton 1989; Levi-Strauss 1962. 9 Mouck 2004. 10 Donald 1991; 1993; 2001.
7 6

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thought to hierarchically-stratied, post industrial societies dominated by shared theoretic world-models, large scale theoretic artefacts and massive external symbolic networks.11 Donald has divided this evolutionary development into four stages of human cognitive-cultural evolution: episodic, mimetic, linguistic (oral mythic culture), and nally external symbolic storage (ESS) (theoretic culture). For each new stage, new neural-cognitive pathways were needed for the cognitive processing of new types of representations. The rst two transitionsfrom episodic to mimetic and from mimetic to linguisticrequired the biological evolution of new innate neural systems. 12 In contrast the third transitionfrom oral-linguistic to ESSdid not correspond with biological changes in the innate human brain but relied solely on the plasticity of already existing neural networks. With this notion Donald refers to the ability of the brain to generate new neural circuitry as a result of learned experiences in the world.13 In this view, early humans depended heavily on their natural or biological memory capacities. Even though mimetic skills and language enabled humans to sustain a shared representational culture, the actual physical storage of that collective knowledge depended on individual memory. Thought was dependent on biological working memory, and whatever was seen or heard had to be remembered and rehearsed either in imagination or in speech. The contents of our long-term storage were accessible only by means of the limited associative strategies available to the biological memory, such as similarity and contiguity. This necessitated a reliance on oral mnemonics, extensive literal oral recitation, and on specialized individuals to preserve important memory material. By introducing external memory devices, such as tokens, pictorial items, clay tags, kudurrus and written documents new cognitive skill-clusters developed and we can talk about symbolic literacy. Using an external memory, which is the prerequisite for literacy, imposes an emphasis on visual as well as semantic processing. These visual systems produce
Donald 2001:260. The rst transition, from apes to Homo erectus, was characterized by the emergence of the most basic level of human representation, the ability to mime, or re-enact, events. The second transition, from Homo erectus to Homo sapiens, completed the biological evolution of modern humans. According to Donald, the key event was the emergence of the human speech system, including a completely new cognitive capacity for constructing and decoding narrative. Donald 1991:16f., 273284. 13 Donald 1991.
12 11

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knowledge-states that are directly derived from the external memory. Donald distinguished three main modes of visual symbolic inventions; pictorial, ideographic and phonetic. These developed at different stages of the visuo-symbolic evolution starting with the pictorial but did not necessary indicate that they required the others to function. Donald points out that, this was the beginning of a new cognitive structure, enabling forms of analytic thought, i. e. formal arguments, systematic taxonomies, induction, deduction.14 The introduction of external memory devices altered human working memory. Unfortunately, it diminished the need for direct and active remembering. Working memory is generally conceived of as a system centred on consciousness of the world around. This provides the basis for consciousness, although not everything that occurs is consciously remembered or experienced. A society that relies exclusively on human memory depends upon social arrangements and mnemonic skills to maintain social-cultural memory by using verbal formulaic recitation, witnesses, formal ritual, and visual imagination as a means of understanding and retaining complex memories. The involvement of all the sensestouch, sight, sound, smell and tasteenhance the capacity of memory, although it also requires presence in real time. The emergence of external mnemonic tools made it possible for the two actors to be parted from each other geographically and to separate activities in time. A question of denition The term receipt commonly implies a physical object, representing a transaction that is part of a record-keeping system. This bias would imply that it only can provide us with static information concerning: (a) the amount and kind of money/goods received or sold; (b) the name of the person from whom the goods came; (c) the name of the recipient; (d) if there was a certain condition for the transaction; (e) name of witnesses and, nally, (f ) date. The main reason to hand out, receive and keep a receipt is that it represents legal evidence of a statement agreed upon by two or more actors. It is a verication of all parties concerned that an agreement has been made. Sometimes this is stated as his heart is satised (Sum. -ga-ni al-du10; Akk. libbau b) which means that this person has relin-

14

Donald 2001.

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quished all future claims.15 The receipt is in this sense a stimulus or a memory device, which holds the information of a transaction between transmitter and receiver. In other words, the verication gives the transaction legal credibility and authority.16 The verication had therefore a major role and established that:
someone paid and received the goods or services; someone paid and has right to something or someone that will be delivered at a later point; someone delivered a good or service; the goods or services are the ones agreed upon; someone is responsible; someone will store and keep something safe; someone lent something out and someone borrowed something; a loan has been paid back or an object has been returned to its owner; it is the will of the god(s).

A receipt is a verication of not only loans and sales but also of gifts, betrothal, marriages performed, agreements concerning co-ownership, tax payment and delivery of goods. Furthermore, it was part of the accountancy and administration of property and land as it reflects the balance between income and expenses. The Ur III balance sheets are early examples of this practice.17 Receipts are not only verication of a transaction of physical material but can also indicate responsibility for goods, people, function or action. Perhaps the question should be raised as to the difference between a receipt and a contract, or whether it is just plain record keeping. The answer is found in the denition of the product; a contract holds a legal concept while record keeping indicates a nancial aspect. Nevertheless, both need verications of the agreed or the actual situation. The receipt function is the evidentiary instrument. The actors There are always at least two parties in a transaction and the receipt is important for both of them. These two parties can full a number of different social roles:
the buyer; that he had required the products or services by paying or other legal means; CH 178, 264; Westbrook 1991. Westbrook 2003:4. 17 Mattessich 1998.
16 15

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City Administration in the Ancient Near East the merchant; for his balance sheets, to keep record of his storage and stock, and to proof that he sold an item legally. This is especially important if he acted as an agent; the debtor; that he has paid/returned the goods; the creditor; that he expects payment and interest and that he has lent out, for instance barley; the taxpayer; that he has paid or given the temple or the palace its share; the palace or the temples for their own external and internal administration, for instance as part of the inventory; the heir; that he is the legal heir of property.

The receipt remained important even after the death of the former debtor. In ancient Mesopotamia no prescription (in modern sense) occurred so therefore a receipt was of great importance for the heirs to prevent a creditor from trying to collect a loan already paid. However a document was not always a guarantee that the debt could be collected as has shown in several debt remissions. The Edict of Ammisaduqa (10th ruler OB, 16461626 B. C.), gives the best detailed description of how complex the economic situation could be.18 The carriers The most common idea of what a receipt is, is the written tablet containing a sworn statement, tuppi burti,19 which was sometimes put in an envelope and sealed. At an early stage (2500 B. C.) these were easy to recognize by their standardized small size of up to 8 8 cm and the rounded form of the tablets.20 However, there were also other kinds of receipts and transaction verications. Tokens, clay tags and kudurrus carried information of a settled and implemented agreement in a similar way. Tokens had an important role as instruments for abstract counting and the development of numerals, especially in providing a cognitive framework for further development.21 Schmandt-Besserat went as far as to state that the token accounting system ushered the revolution in human cognitive capabilities: Tokens and clay tablets functioned as an extension of the human brain to collect, manipulate, store, and retrieve
Pritchard 1975 II 3641. CAD B 339. 20 Englund 2004:28. 21 For the discussion about the token as a numerical device and beginning of accounting see Englund 1996; Schmandt-Besserat 1992; Mattessich 1987; 1989; 1994; 1998; 2000; EzzamelHoskins 2002.
19 18

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data.22 The token as memory carrier was also argued for by Costello.23 These scholars focus on accounting and their economical role. The token, however, also had a legal importance, as the judicial evidence of a transaction. Taking into consideration contextual information that shows that the tokens were sometimes stored together with seals and written legal documents, the author argues that tokens are an archaic alternative to the standard receipt, like contracts.24 Kudurrus carry the same concept as a public receipt. They are publically displayed, reminding everyone of the agreement.25 Other objects could also carry this meaning like the Early Dynastic pegs that were driven into the walls to symbolize the sale of a house. This action was also accompanied by the libation of oil by the herald, a symbolism to which we will soon return.26 In addition to such material, physical memory tools and verications also came in immaterial or more abstract forms. A contract (riksatum/inim ka-k) did not have to imply a written document. Besides the physical memory tools, immaterial and more abstract forms also occurred. The testimony of witnesses was from the earliest time the weighty proof according to the laws and the legal literature regardless of the presence of a tablet. Gods could also sometimes act as witnesses.27 The spoken words formed the main body of the receipt given. We see for instance that the early sales document (2500 B. C.) had no seals, which meant that the actual presence of (ofcial) witnesses was required.28 However, in the absence of what we may term rational evidence, in the sense of physical evidence or witnesses, the ancient courts had other options to resolve disputes. The court could establish by oath, ordeal or testimony a claim of property or liability (burru).29 The oath was in most cases part of making an agreement or stating a legal claim, and often in-

Schmandt-Besserat 1992:197. Costello 2002. 24 Nilhamn, B. Tokens from a Juridical Point of View (paper presented at RAI 51, 2005). 25 Gelb et al. 1991. 26 At the Hermitage in St. Petersburg two House sale contracts (SRU 33 and 34, published by D. Edzard) are written on hollow clay nails, which illustrates this use further. 27 Mercer 1913:92. 28 Postgate 1992:285f. 29 E. g. CH 23, 126.
23

22

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voked the king and/or the gods.30 There was not only the oath sworn by the witnesses but also the exculpatory oath performed by the defendant. The river ordeal (id alkum) also functioned as supra-rational evidence as this is based on the verdict from the god(s) using the river as their instrument of verdict. The role of the ve senses as part of verications All learning comes from perceptions that are directed to the brain by one or more of the ve senses. Hibbits call these (communication) media.31 By involving more than just one sense one triggers several memory centres in the brain. Psychologists have found that learning or remembering occurs most rapidly when information is received through more than one sense.32 Most societies rely on face-to-face contact when making an agreement. In these circumstances, speech will be the most important instrument, but sight is also important due to the perception the entire scene, including all the gestures. A formal predictable movement and the use of formal items or wording will not only audio-visualize the situation but also transform its value into an ofcial situation. Physical performances like striking one in the face or forehead or clasping the hands emphasize the action further (see table 1). Sight, sound, touch, taste and smell all performed part of recognized verication processes. In our culture, writing dominates the media we are taught and trained to be visually oriented. In preliterate or marginally literate societies, the focus on the visual dimension of experience was of less importance than hearing according to Hibbits.33 Visual expressions are often three-dimensional and kinetic.34 The gesture is good example of this. Gestures can be divided into two groups: natural (instinctive) and conventional (cultural). An example of the rst is for instance the smile when pleased or crossing the arms when reserved. The latter are more culturally determined and must be acquired by learning. We may call a set of certain conventional gestures a ceremony, and if several people are inMercer 1913. Hibbits 1992:955. 32 According to Laird (1985), 75% is learned through seeing. Hearing about 13%, and the other sensestouch, smell and taste account for 12% (however, his Sensory stimulation theory is based on modern man in western society). 33 Hibbits 1992. 34 Hibbits 1992:907.
31 30

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volved (the presence of witnesses) its importance grows. Looking at the symbolism of literature and iconography, the Near Eastern societies were highly gesticulatory, as the following examples illustrate:
a slave owner who freed his slave smashed a pot as a sign of breaking the slave contract;35 a salesman could sell his land to a buyer by lifting his own foot off it and putting the foot of the buyer on it instead;36 a similar symbolic ceremony is found in the Old Testament where the salesman gives a sandal to the buyer as a sign that the latter has now the right to walk over (possess) the land;37 the son who wished legally to disown his parents abandoned his garment at the entrance of his former parents house. A father who wanted to disown his son broke a clod of earth or clay between his ngers (as a sign of breaking the relationship as man was said to be made of clay);38 a dying man wishing to designate his heir or legatee took the hand of the beneted individual.39

The delivery or acceptance of certain items could be part of an agreement between two parties. This could either be of a material or an immaterial kind. A debtor could seal a loan agreement by publicly delivering his garment or the hem of his garment to his creditor.40 The public handing over of an item like the pestle is another example connected to land transaction.41 The placing on of wedding ring nowadays has the same function. In Mesopotamia,42 the river was seen as the instrument of the will of (the) god(s). The river ordeal as a legal gesture provides the audience and the judges with the visual sign of the will of god(s). The written receipt is more than just a copy of spoken words put down on a tablet, it is also a material piece that can be seen and felt. In the earliest time, they were standardized and formalized as rounded tablets. For the people who could not read, its appearance made it immediately obvious of what kind it was. The tablet itself proved that it was a closed agreement with a legal aspect not to be contested. Breaking the written tablet was of course a strong visual symbol of annulment and termination of the obligation.
Malul 1987:5859. Malul 1987:514. 37 Ruth 4:211. 38 Malul 1987:110, 138. 39 Oppenheim 1964:283. 40 Malul 1987:366. 41 Gelb et al. 1991:242. 42 Similar idea was also present in Europe, cf. the witch trials in the 18th century.
36 35

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In a society where writing is absent or not common, a contract between promisor and promissee had to be orally made in the presence of witnesses. However even after the appearance of literacy, we cannot assume that the spoken word (solemnia verba) was unnecessary. On the contrary, writing can never replace the richer spoken language.43 Even when writing existed, the oral testimony was preferred or given more weight as proof.44 Even though written documents were made to capture what was said the saying itself mattered more than the writing. The tablet was nothing more than a witness of the stated.45 Touching is not the rst sense that comes to mind, but was as important as the rest of the senses. One of the most universal gestures around the world for the formal closure of a contract or a deal is the handclasp or handshake, or more ercely the receiving of a slap. This is not only a visual gesture but also a tactile message. Grasping a persons hem symbolized in a tactile manner a formal complaint towards that person.46 Another method was to strike, slap or hit someone on the forehead.47 This latter, if it was the forehead of a debtor, could also mean that a debt was legally guaranteed.48 Perhaps this may only be a symbolic wording, but still a quite forceful one. A similar practice is found in an Old Babylonian letter where it is said that if the envoy grasped the testicles and penis of the owner (writer of the letter) the owner would give him [it], i. e. the goods. This is probably also only symbolic wordings and Malul argues further that the envoy probably had to present an oath.49 The same can be said about the kiss between bride and groom consolidating the marriage as a legal relationship. Touching or kissing a religious object is also a strong tactile gesture, as one connects with not only the object but with the gods at such moments. Being physically present in the temple can be seen in a similar way, as one is bodily surrounded by the spiritual air and presence of the gods. Transferring goods or objects is also a tactile experience of holding, letting go and receiving. Passing or crossing a pestle, a rod or even a sandal is sign of
Bottero 2001:24. Socrates never wrote down any of his thought as this was the normal behaviour for a person who lived in a society where speech was the common sign of intellect. Plato did it later but in the form of dialogues. 45 Westbrook 2003:12f. 46 Malul 1987:560. 47 Malul 1987:581. 48 Malul 1987:307. 49 Malul 1987:491f.
44 43

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transfer of ownership. The physical passing of the receipt may also have been a strong rite of its own as ownership of the agreement then became property of the other party. Even though it is not immediately obvious, taste and smell can be used as necessary parts of verication procedures. Smell recognises the use of ointment, perfumes, incense and sacricial smoke. These may symbolize the divine presence and divine approval. The ritual of anointing individuals with scented oil changed their legal status, bringing them into different relationships with other individuals and subjecting them to different obligations.50 Such rituals could be part of land transactions,51 of betrothals52 or freeing a slave.53 Taste plays a major role in the sharing of a meal. Feasting is a common part of an agreement or a transaction all around the world. The ancient Near East forms no exception as we see in the laws of Enunna 27. According to Babylonian law, Eat the ram and drink the cup was required for both parties and the witnesses when making a land transaction.54 Drinking may be seen as a swallowed oath or as a promise, as in the modern saying This we toast on/drink to! The bride and groom sharing a cup and feeding each other with cake or the toast when a sale is closed are other examples of the survival of these rites into our time. A sacrice of food or drinks or a libation (kirrum) to the god(s) form similar rituals. The juridical evidences As people were forced to live in a smaller area this meant that conflicts were never far away. Commonly accepted rules had to be posed and audited by a mutually accepted party, but it also meant that administration had to be organized to avoid conflicts. One driving force in the the development of writing was the necessity to keep a track of exchanges of goods in growing urban centra like Uruk, where the increase of population made it difcult to prove ownership and manage debt situations (with sales, interest and taxes) in the old (oral) way. As society and its economy grew more complex so did the need for (legal) administration. Considering the fact that witnesses have always beenand still arepart of transactions and formal agreements, we can
Hibbits 1992:935937. Malul 1987:440. 52 CE 2728; Malul 1987:204. 53 Malul 1987:58. 54 Hibbits 1992:939; Malul 1987:440.
51 50

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assume that they were essential in pre-literate societies too. In historical period, from the third millennium onwards, we see that the role of the witnesses still was a natural part of legal procedures, verifying their presence by using a seal. Occasionally they used a hem of a garment or even a ngernail instead.55 As Postgate reflects, the use of witnesses is not specied as a principle anywhere: we do not come across any law 56 However, putting ones seal on a document is a further step towards external evidentiary memory. If we look at the development of verication we notice that the rst receipts/sales of property were not sealed. The oral performance was probably the main activity and the document itself was not even evidentiary but may be seen as a mnemonic device. It was still the words and the performances that counted. Even though the legal literature from ancient Mesopotamia itself does not show any abundance of symbolic actions, we cannot ignore their importance.57 Malul argues for the idea that they had become embedded in the legal documents.58 He further argues that one should separate symbolic action (physical movement) from symbolic gestures (non-verbal) as these had different purposes.59 Looking at the legal law traditions in Mesopotamia60 (table 2) through time we see that there is a tendency towards the written sources as memory devices even though the necessity of the witnesses is still obvious in the Neo-Babylonian time (and still is today). In some cases, performances such as oaths and ordeals were needed as evidence. In Nuzi, as in Babylonia, a document was considered to be a simpler form of proof than the oral testimony of the witnesses. However, a witness was always seen as the principal verication. In some cases the witnesses were examined even though the document existed. It seems that in some cases the document was only used if the defendant lacked witnesses. If the authenticity of the document was questioned the seals were examined. The river ordeal and use of oaths were also in use in Nuzi. The oath was however, contrary to Babylonia, not used in the same extent and the witnesses were rarely asked to take it. In general, the oath only applied when other verication was lacking.61
Postgate 1994:285, fn. 524. Postgate 1994:285. 57 Malul 1987:449. 58 Malul 1987:12. 59 Malul 1987:21. 60 This overview (table 2) focus on the main area of Mesopotamia. Therefore neither Hittite nor Jewish sources have been incorporated. 61 Liebsny 1941:131142.
56 55

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Conclusion: the importance of the given proof This study has looked upon the receipt as a mnemonic verication from four different angles: (1) the importance of the memory; (2) conception vs. perception; (3) the increasing need of written statements and, nally, (4) material vs. immaterial. According to Donald,62 the evolution of writing did not involve any signicant change in the innate biological brain. It did reflect a massive change in cognitive capabilities, but those enhanced capabilities are more aptly characterized as the use of external devices to leverage the cognitive abilities, to enhance the capacities of human memory and to focus and process information. This however occurred at the expense of the oral and mimetic memory. In other words, with the development of writing, the active use of other kinds of proof diminished while the written receipts and contracts became necessities for both the memory, and the legal administration. The most obvious reason for having evidence, regardless of its form, is its support for the memory of what was actually agreed or transferred functioning as proof that the agreement had actually happened. In this sense memory devices have an outspoken legal aspect that was fully integrated into the economy and of course the city administration. To be valid it had to be made within a culturally recognized framework where both parties were involved and the rest of the society acknowledged its legal status. To enhance its legal value it was made in the presence of the actors involved assisted by witnesses, but receipts were more than the written or orally spoken words. The physical container that held the symbolism and the intention of the receipt could equally well be recognized as having a strong legal aspect. Laws did not recognize the creation of the physical document as the essence of a transaction but only as a verication that the transaction had taken place in a legally valid manner. One must therefore conclude that the term receipt/verication holds two important aspects:
conception, i. e. the abstract process of meaning and value; perception, i. e. the physical or symbolic appearance acknowledged through the senses.

In combination, these form a strong instrument. Through perception and by using several senses, one will remember something more clearly, thereby making the legal value (the conception) stronger and more solid.
62

Donald 1991.

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An example of such a traditional situation is the marital rite, where all ve senses were (and still are) involved before the marriage was ofcially consummated. The verication did not just consist of the oral promise (verba) and perhaps a written deed but also the gifts given, the witnesses (including gods), the feast but most of all by the physical act of handing over the bride to her husband. It would be dangerous to discuss forms of receipts from ancient Mesopotamia directly in the words of the economic and legal framework of today. In our society, we perceive a receipt to be the physical paper where gures state how much we paid for something. The immaterial aspects of the receipt, such as the binding nature of oral words and the handshake, are overlooked. Besides paper, modern society uses many materials, like special coins for the laundry automats, as receipts that we paid or agreed for the right of something. With this in mind, we need to acknowledge alternative possibilities of carriers of the concept of the receipt in past societies. A clay token, a sealing or a disc are early manifestations, a ceremony of handing over a symbol, the chosen words, the place and time and the witnesses; they all carry a part of the concept of a receipt. To conclude, the receipt (still) has several main purposes:
as evidence/verication; as tool for the administration; as tool for memory; to avoid future disputes between individuals or groups; to establish and maintain ownership; to give authenticity and legality to acts; to keep a certain idea of legal consensus intact.

Rapid urbanization meant that new developments in the social structure of society were inevitable and brought forth new methods of book keeping and legal auditing. The economic and social complexity of loans, debts, rental and interest made old methods as the oral performances inadequate and not reliable nor efcient enough. As a result, we see trough time in the legal literature that the importance of the written sources increases. In the earliest laws, the need of the physical tablet is not so pronounced while in the latter period this is seen as a necessity. To conclude, there are three different kinds of verications that are mentioned in the laws:
rational and material, physical evidences; rational and immaterial (witnesses); supra-rational including oaths and ordeals.

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The concept of receipt included several aspects but through time some of these became empty and archaic with a limited own legal value. Perhaps only phrases lived on as symbolic words but the actually physical action had disappeared. This paper aims to how the importance of providing proof embodies economical concepts and law and order and its impact upon society. At the same time, it has shown how a concept like the receipt, regardless of appearance, can reflect the abstract and symbolic development of society.

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Table 1. Overview of some performances that may denote legal activity63 Expression Situation Sense (F: feeling; T: taste; Sm: smell; H: hearing; S: sight) Primary Secondary Ptam ullulum/ubbubum Manumission of slave F S, Sm To cleanse the forehead Ptum ellum/zakm Fullment of debt F S, Sm or other obligation To be clean (forehead) Ptam maum To guarantee F S, H for somebody To strike the forehead Ptam emdum To lean the forehead Qaqqadam kullum To hold the head Qaqqadam maum To strike the head Na laptam/ubtam aknum u parum/alkum Establishment of obligation To guarantee for somebody Make a formal accusation F F F S S S, H F, H

Dissolution of familial ties S (the person leaves the To place the garment and depart home) Qannam nasqum u am Dissolution of familial ties F (the person leaves the To choose the hem and leave home) ubtam amum u eria Dissolution of familial ties F m/eria am (divorce) To strip the garment and drive (someone) out naked/to go out naked Qannam naksum Dissolution of familial ties (the person leaves the To cut the hem home) Ina qannim raksum Handing over bride price To tie in the hem of the garment Dissolution of familial ties Uzn abtum u parum To seize the ears and depart Qt mesm u parum Dissolution of familial ties (disinheriting a son) To wash the hands and go Qtam nasum To remove the hand amnam ana qaqqadim tabkum To pour oil on the head
63

S, H

S, H

S, H

F F F F Sm/F

S, H S S, Sm, H S H, T, S

Dissolution of a claim Establishment of marital status

Based on Malul 1987.

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pam ulm u pam aknum To raise the foot and to place the foot Qannam marum To impress the hem (on clay) Sissiktam/sikkam batqum/baqmum To cut/pluck the garment/hem Sissiktau kma kunukkiu His hem in lieu of his seal Kram aklum ksam atm amnam paum To eat the ram, to drink the cup, to anoint with oil Kirbnam epm To break a clod (of earth) Karpatum epm To break the pot

Legal transaction of land or property (right of succession) Establishment of legal agreement (Nuzi) Dissolution of familial ties (divorceto be able to remarry) Pledge for substitution of seal Legal transaction of land or property

Sense (F: feeling; T: taste; Sm: smell; H: hearing; S: sight) Primary Secondary F S, H

F F

S, H, Sm S, H

S T/Sm

F S, H, F

To verify without document (OB); dissolution of familial ties (Nuzi) Manumission of Slave

S, H

Codex Ur-Nammu

Date 2100 B. C.

Table 2. Mesopotamian laws64 Comments 37 laws of which only one mentions the need or the preferred need of a written contract ( 5) Of perhaps 200 laws only 38 survived of which only two mention a tablet or sealed document ( 20, 31) Consists of more than 60 laws of which only two mention a contract. 27, 28 state that besides the contract there will be a nuptial feast as part of the marriage but also libation should be conducted. Interesting enough there is no clear statement that the parties should have a written documentation.

Lipit-Ishtar

1930 B. C.

Enunna

1770 B. C.

64

Based on Roth 2000.

188 Codex

City Administration in the Ancient Near East Date Comments Of the known laws 20 mention the importance of the written contract, deed or receipt ( 7, 37, 48, 52, 100, 104, 105, 106, 107, 122, 123, 128, 151, 152, 165, 177, 178, 179, 183, 264). 9 mention the necessity of witnesses ( 7, 912, 106, 122124). 12 mention the oath ( 9, 20, 23, 103, 106, 120, 126, 131, 206, 207, 227, 249). Unfortunately for this paper as we are investigating the importance of receipts, the missing 6699 probably held additional information concerning them. In this text written documents are mentioned at several points but also other kind of proofs of action, for instant clearing his head, releasing his foot fetters, smashing his pot as co-existent proofs and rituals beside the written document/receipt when freeing the slave.

Hammurabi 1750 B. C.

Sumerian Handbook of Forms

1700 B. C.

Edict of 16461626 Of the 22 known laws 7 mention the tablet as an Ammisaduqa B. C. evidence of the agreed ( 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11).

Middle Assyrian Laws

1076 B. C.

It is a clear increase of wish to have a written document, even though the testimony of the witnesses still carries the main role as evidence ( A 28, 34, 46, 57, 59; B 6, 17, 18; O 2, 5). Of the 15 laws, one requires the need of the testimony from the witnesses ( 4) and 4 mention the need of a tablet ( 5, 6, 8 and 9).

NeoBabylonian Laws

700 B. C.

B. Nilhamn, From Oral Promise to Written Receipt

189

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