iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Science Magazine @science.org · 25/02/2026

This 38,000-year-old Adorant figurine from a cave in the Swabian Alps contains symbols that may encode similar amounts of information as the earliest forms of written language. scim.ag/4rdysad

science.org

Ancient artifacts hint at earliest protowriting

Geometric shapes on 40,000-year-old bone and ivory suggest early European Homo sapiens long possessed cognitive tools for language

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Dr. Shana Zaia @shanazaia.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

Are you curious about ancient #Assyrian or #Mesopotamian religions? Thanks to the Assyrian Cultural Foundation's Assyrian Renaissance lecture series, you can check out my thoughts on the topic here: youtu.be/vC9AbeNEU1I?... #Assyriology #Ancient #History

youtu.be

Assyrian Renaissance: The Religion of Assyria - Dr. Shana Zaia

YouTube video by Assyrian Cultural Foundation

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

Almost 4,000 years ago during an era we call the Old Babylonian period, a student formed a round tablet out of clay and drew a circle on it for a math assignment. The area of the circle (45) was then calculated using an approximation of pi (≈ 3). #HappyPiDay

Photo of a round clay tablet of pale clay. In the centre (roughly) is a drawing of a circle. Inside the circle is the cuneiform for the number 45. On the circle’s line itself above that is the number in cuneiform 3, and to the right of the diagram is the number in cuneiform for 9.

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Last year, I wrote a brief article about how the heart “breaks” in ancient Mesopotamia. What could a broken heart have meant 3,000 years ago, and how did people express mental distress? To me, how they made emotional pain make sense is really moving anetoday.org/al-rashid-he...

anetoday.org

Heartbreak and the History of Distress in Ancient Mesopotamia - The Ancient Near East Today

The concept of “heartbreak” appears multiple times in cuneiform texts as a metaphor to describe both mental and physical conditions. How should we interpret this phrase? And is it anything like heartb...

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Jens Notroff @jensnotroff.com · 12/11/2024

#GöbekliTepe 's monumental T-pillars are actually giant #anthropomorphic sculptures. Got to admit, though, that in the beginning of my work there, meanwhile more than 17 years ago, I found it ... challenging to recognize this likeness. Until we finally excavated the "hands & loincloth" part ...

Drawing of a T-shaped pillar of the Göbekli Tepe type with arrows pointing out and labelling specific features like arms, hands, belt, and loincloth carved into the stone.

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 30/11/2024

It looks like an ancient Excel spreadsheet with a doodle. But ~2,500 years ago, someone made a diagram of a 7-pointed star, and a table that seems to give instructions for how to make that diagram. The seven points of the star are labeled with the names for the strings of a Mesopotamian harp.

Beige-coloured Cuneiform tablet with drawing of a seven-sided star in the top left and a table below it across the rest of the tablet. Reverse of the tablet is damaged and shows several cracks and spots.

Close-up of the seven-sided star with cuneiform signs at its points and part of the table below on a beige-coloured cuneiform tablet

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Dr. Kiersten Neumann @knpazuzu.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

“Masterpieces of the MANN,” a special exhibit currently on display at Maraya, #AlUla, showcasing collections from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, including those of Alexander III of Macedon, Trajan & Marcus Aurelias, and a mosaic replete with beautiful creatures 🐍 #SaudiArabia

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Andrew A.N. Deloucas @aandeloucas.com · 22/11/2024

Ea-nāṣir is the recipient of the world’s oldest complaint letter. He’s reportedly the worst businessman of the 18th century, a mediocre conman whose actions should have him put out of business. Is this fair? Here’s a thread on the most up-to-date research on this captivating figure.

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

It’s kinda rare to find drawings on clay tablets from ancient Mesopotamia. This one shows a drawing of coils — maybe intestines — on one side and cuneiform signs on the other. Assyrian and Babylonian diviners had to “read” sheep intestines for signs of events to come www.penn.museum/collections/...

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Reposted by Dr. Shana Zaia

Moudhy Al-Rashid (she/her) @moudhy.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

If you want a digital tour of At-Turaif district in Riyadh’s old town — a UNESCO World Heritage Site — then I am here to oblige you. Entering the district via a bridge with a sweeping view that I did zero justice to

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