Representing Numbers and Quantities in Editions of Mathematical Cuneiform Texts

Numbers and quantities are omnipresent in administrative, economic and mathematical texts produced in the Ancient Near East. However, the philological work ignored numbers and quantities. The conventions adopted by philologists for representing the cuneiform signs attached to numbers and quantities have varied greatly according to the date and genre of the sources, the editors’ choices, the constraints imposed by publishers and other parameters. There is little consensus on conventions for the representation of quantitative data and this is particularly visible in recent editions of mathematical cuneiform texts. At the same time, a wider consensus has emerged regarding the representation of sexagesimal place-value notation, a numerical system used essentially in mathematical texts. This contribution explores how historians of cuneiform mathematics have approached the problems raised by the representation of numbers and quantities in modern editions. The conclusion opens a debate on current issues at stake in editing mathematical cuneiform texts.