A Book History of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Looking at the Book as Artifact - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1140 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/07/29 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Gilgamesh Essay Did you like this example? What was the first book? You can argue that it goes back as far as someone placing their hand on a wall in a cave and leaving their mark behind. It could be argued that it was the hieroglyphics, it could be argued it was stone tablets from 2100 BC. There is an immense number of firsts. The Epic of Gilgamesh is one of the oldest book artifacts that has been unearthed. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Book History of the Epic of Gilgamesh and Looking at the Book as Artifact" essay for you Create order The Epic of Gilgamesh is a cuneiform text which is estimated to have been written in 2100 BC. This paper explores the book history of the Epic of Gilgamesh as well as examining the book as an artifact. What is the Epic of Gilgamesh? A History Gilgamesh was first discovered and translated in the 19th century. The story became popular quickly because the 11th tablet detailed the events of the Flood story from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. In Mesopotamian culture the language of learning, Sumerian and Akkadian was a treasured curriculum that had to be mastered by student scribes. According to Andrew George in the Penguin edition of the Epic of Gilgamesh: The Babylonian Epic Poem and Other Texts in Akkadian and Sumerian (Preface and Introduction), all the literature that we have in Sumerian derives from the tablets written by these young Babylonian scribal apprentices, many of which were found in the remains of the houses of their teachers . It can be assumed that the Epic of Gilgamesh was written by these scribes due to the fact that not only were the tablets found in the remains of the scribes teachers homes, but also because not many would have been well enough educated in order to write this epic. The Sumerian literary texts that achieved the most publicity are the five poems of Gilgamesh. However, these are not the same as the Babylonian Gilgamesh epic that were written in Akkadian but are separate tales with similar themes. The Sumerian poems acted as a source material for the Babylonian epic. So even one of the oldest books in history, has even more history behind it and couldnt have developed without older Sumerian texts. Other Akkadian works have been recovered from this time frame. Some of them were well kept and finely written, these include three Babylonian tablets of Gilgamesh which we owe our knowledge of the story to. The Discovery of the Tablets Gilgamesh was first discovered and translated in the 19th century. The story became popular quickly because the 11th tablet detailed the events of the Flood story from the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament. The 11th tablet was excavated in Kouyunjik (now Nineveh, Iraq) by Hormuzd Rassam. The tablet is 15.24 centimeters long, 13.33 in width, and 3.17 centimeters in thickness and is made of clay . The fragment of the tablet has inscription on both sides with 49 and 51 lines as well as 45 and 49 lines. The tablet describes Ea, a god, told Utu-napishtim about the flood to destroy the earth. He told Utu to make a boat and save Utu and his family. Utu agreed, and when he, the birds, and the beasts were aboard the door shuts and the rest of mankind died. After six days the flood let up. The gods were mad at Utu and he and the animals could not find a final resting place. He made a sacrifice and Ea interceded and gave them an abode at the mouth of the river Euphrates. The next prominent tablet that was discovered was the 5th tablet. It was acquired from the Sulaymaniyah Museum in 2011 and was discovered to hold text from the Epic of Gilgamesh. The fifth tablet (in two parts) details the story of Gilgamesh and Enkidu as they fight the protector of the Cedar Forest, Humbaba. The earliest texts of Gilgamesh were written by the Sumerians in the third millennium B.C.E. in Mesopotamia. By the second millennium the story was inscribed on 11 tablets. Additionally, Assyrian scribes added a tablet that describes Gilgameshs arrangements for death and his future in the underworld in the 8th century B.C.E. One part of the fifth tablet is known as the Standard Babylonian version of the Gilgamesh Epic. It is written in cuneiform employing the writing system of wedge-shaped symbols used throughout the Near East in the first four millennia B.C.E. The tablet measures 4.3 by 3.7 inches and 1.2 inches thick. This tablet is believed to have been unearthed at a Babylo nian site. There were arguments whether the tablet was Old Babylonian or Neo-Babylonian. Andrew George, the British academic who wrote the translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh I quoted in my first report, believes that it is a typical Neo-Babylonian script which was not written later than the sixth century B.C.E. Two tablets represent the story of Tablet V. The Neo-Assyrian tablet from Nineveh and the Late Babylonian tablet from Uruk that Andrew George speaks of. Gilgamesh is still to this day constantly evolving as new pieces are still being discovered. After the US invaded Iraq and looted the Iraqi museums, the Sulaymaniyah Museum started an initiative in which they paid smugglers to obtain artifacts on their journey to other countries. The museum did not ask any questions regarding where it came from, how much it was, or who was selling it. The museum believed this would keep smugglers from selling to other buyers due to legal ramifications. In 2011, they discovered a collection of clay tablets. The collection was almost 90 clay tablets of different contents and shapes, they were all covered in mud. Some were in fragments while others were in pristine condition. The location is unknown due to the fact that the museum refused to ask questions to protect smugglers. It is believed that they were illegally obtained from the southern part of Babel which was previously Babylon or what was previously Mesopotamia. Professor Farouk Al-Rawi who teaches at the School of Oriental and African Studies was responsible for examining each item and appraising them. The seller did not know what the tablet was, only that it was really large, and he wanted a large sum of money for it. Professor Al-Rawi, knowing he had something greater, told Mr. Hashim to buy it and give the seller what he wanted. They bought it for $800. Professor Al-Rawi was cleaning the tablet and noticed that the three sections of the tablet were joined together, although it is unknown who put them together. Eventually, Al-Rawi discovered that he was working on one of the tablets from the Epic of Gilgamesh. It took five days in November 2012 to read and translate the cuneiform text. The tablet is inscribed in Neo-Babylonian cuneiform. It is number T.1447 in the Sulaymaniyah Museum. It is 11cm tall, 9.5 cm in length, and 3cm in thickness. It is dated between 2003-1595 BCE, although Al-Rawi dates it between 626-539 BCE.

Robert B. Reich s Saving Capitalism Essay - 952 Words

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Arthur Kornberg Essay Example For Students

Arthur Kornberg Essay A. Personal InformationArthur Kornberg (1918-), American biochemist and physician, claims he has never met quot;a dull enzyme.quot; He has devoted his life to pursuing and purifying these critical protein molecules. His love of science did not spring from a family history rooted in science. He was born on March 3rd, 1918, the son of a sewing machine operator in the sweatshops of the Lower East Side of New York City. His parents, Joseph Aaron Kornberg and Lena Rachel Katz, were immigrant Jews who made great sacrifices to ensure the safety of their family. They had fled Poland, for if they had stayed, they would have been murdered in a German concentration camp. His grandfather had abandoned the paternal family name Queller, of Spanish origin. This was done to escape the fate of the army draft; he had taken the name of Kornberg, a man who had already done his service. His father used their meager earnings to bring and settle his family in New York City and was thrust into the sweatshops as a sewing machine operator. He, along with his brother Martin, 13 years older and sister Ella, nine years older, was encouraged by loving parents to obtain a good education. The public school reinforced this ideal. Education was the road of opportunity for social and economic mobility out of the sweatshops. His early education in grade school and Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn was distinguished only by his quot;skipping quot; several grades. There was nothing inspirational about his courses except the teachers encouragement to get good grades. When he received a grade of 100 in the New York State Regents Examination, his chemistry teacher glowed with pride. It was the first time in over twenty years of teaching that a student of his had gotten a perfect grade. Arthur was a brilliant student who graduated from high school at the age of fifteen. He enrolled in City College in uptown Manhattan. Competition among a large body of bright and highly motivated students was fierce in all subjects. His high school interest in chemistry carried over into college. After receiving his B.S. degree in biology and chemistry in 1937, and since City College offered no graduate studies or research laboratories at that time, he became one of two hundred pre-med students at the University of Rochester. All through college he worked as a salesman in his parents furnishing store, and earned about $14 a week. This along with a New York State Regents Scholarship of $100 a year and with no college tuition to pay he was able to save enough money to pay for the first half of medical school. While a student, he became aware of a mild jaundice (yellowing) in his eyes. He observed a similar condition among other students and patients at the hospital and published these findings, his first professional paper, in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. He enjoyed studying to become a doctor, and his goal was to practice internal medicine, preferably in an academic setting. The medical school curriculum was uncrowded and close contact with a distinguished faculty was encouraged, but to his shock anti-Semitism was rampant in the academic circles. He was denied academic awards and research opportunities because he was Jewish. He had hoped to receive one of the fellowships from the medical school which allowed a few outstanding students to spend a year doing research, even though the idea of spending a significant amount of his days in the laboratory had no appeal at that time. To his disappointment he was passed over in every department, due to the ethnic and religious barriers which existed during that time, even though his grades were the highest. Although one professor at Rochester stood out, William S. McCann, Chairman of the Department of Medicine, the only one who made any effort to help Kornberg. William McCann persuaded a wealthy patient to endow a scholarship of which Kornberg was the recipient. This enabled Kornberg to pursue his first research project (on jaundice), and allowed him to be appointed to an internship in medicine, and then to an assistant residency, which would groom him for a career in academic medicine. Following his graduation in 1941, Kornberg enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard, being assigned duty as a medical officer in the Caribbean. Officials at the National Institute of Health in Maryland, aware of his brief clinical study on the subject of jaundice, arranged for Kornbergs transfer to the institute. He spent the remainder of World War II carrying out research in the nutrition laboratory. In 1943, Kornberg married Sylvy Levy; he enjoyed not only companionship with Sylvy but also laboratory collaboration with a gifted wife. Her suggestions and advice would play major roles in his research. He has also enjoyed the privilege of fathering three sons, Tom, Ken, and Roy who have exhibited extraordinary scientific and professional achievements. B. Professional InformationThe National Institute of health was founded by Joseph Goldberger, one of the first scientists to recognize that a vitamin deficiency could cause an epidemic disease. Dr. Goldberger discovered the vitamin niacin, a member of the B complex of vitamins. Apperance vs. Realty in Hamlet Essay Kornberg became intrigued with bacteria as a source of enzymes for his research. In particular, he became interested in biosynthetic pathways for the building blocks of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). It was also in 1953 that James Watson and Francis Crick reported their discovery that DNA is a pair of chains spiraling about each other-a double helix. Within two years of Watson and Cricks historic report, Kornberg had found, in juices extracted from cells, an enzyme that synthesizes the huge chains of DNA from simple blocks. But it was not until 1956 that Kornbergs interest in the replication of DNA became the focus of his research. It was after the enzyme that assembles the nucleotide building blocks into a DNA chain was already in his hands. Much of his research during 1953 and 1954 dealt with purification of the enzymes that synthesize the precursors of DNA. By 1954, Kornbergs team had firmly established how the nucleotides are synthesized. The next step was to study how they are assembled into DNA or RNA. Initial experiments with extracts from animal cells were unsuccessful, and Kornberg turned to extracts from the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). This was the first major discovery his team had made, and was the chemical catalyst responsible for the synthesis of DNA. They discovered the enzyme in the common intestinal bacterium Escherichia coli, and Kornberg called it DNA polymerase. This was an important discovery because DNA is the construction manual, and RNA transcribes it into reading form, but the proteins, particularly the enzymes, carry out all the cellular functions and give the organism its shape. In 1957, Kornbergs group used this enzyme to synthesize DNA molecules, but they were not biologically active. This proved that this enzyme does catalyze the production of new strands of DNA, and it explained how a single strand of DNA acts as a pattern for the formation of a new strand of nucleotides-the building blocks of DNA. In 1959, Kornberg along with Ochoa shared the Nobel Prize for their ;quot;discovery of the mechanisms in the biological synthesis of ribonucleic acid and deoxyribonucleic acid.;quot; His work established the basic mechanism of all DNA polymerases in nature and the capacity of these polymerases to make genetically active DNA in the test tube. The same year Kornberg accepted an appointment as professor of biochemistry and chairman of the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University. He continued his research on DNA biosynthesis along with Mehran Goulian. The two researchers were determined to synthesize an artificial DNA that was biologically active. By 1967 the two researchers announced their success. This research would help in future studies of genetics, as well as in the search for cures to hereditary diseases and the control of viral infections. The Stanford researchers have continued to study DNA polymerase to further understanding of the structure of that enzyme and how it works. Kornberg has used his status as a Nobel Laureate on behalf of various causes. Arthur Kornberg is an expert in DNA replication, and in particular DNA polymerases. He is currently an active Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University School of Medicine, and he holds memberships in several scientific associations, including the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society, and the American Philosophical Society. He has also authored over 300 scientific publications from 1956 to 1994 relating to DNA replication, DNA polymerases, and other aspects of nucleic acid enzymology. Arthur Kornbergs accomplishments still continue today, and the list is growing. Many of the enzymes that he isolated are also used in modern genetic engineering today. His work has help spawn a new generation of research in molecular medicine, has completely transformed the nature of medical research, and has enabled scientists to make great strides in the diagnosis and treatment of immune disorders. His research has laid the foundation for the clinical advances in the treatment of many devastating human disorders. D. ConclusionProfessor Kornberg finds time to travel and lecture at many universities and research centers. He calls for a return of simple curiosity. He lectures that quot; scientists need to be able to study science for curiositys sake and not be driven by the possible dollar benefits-and governments should encourage them. ;quot; He is adamant that research into science should proceed, despite public concerns that new discoveries, especially in genetic engineering, could be abused. ;quot;There is often a focus on the alarmist possibilities of any new technology; however it is foolish to try and predict where science will take us.;quot; He states ;quot; there hasnt been a single instance of biotechnology being misapplied. Its safer than driving. ;quot; Professor Kornberg is a remarkable individual, and his devotion to his field of study is inspirational. His contributions have advanced medical knowledge. Medical knowledge needs to constantly advance because of the challenges of new problems- such as novel toxins and resistant organisms that are constantly arising. I believe that research is the lifeline to medicine; we should continue to question and search for answers.