Late Babylonian Mathematical Practices

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Mathieu Ossendrijver
• Subject Area: Egyptology and Ancient Near Eastern Studies ; History of Science
• Term: from 2020 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 437167912

The project entails a comprehensive study of Late Babylonian mathematical practices attested in sources from the Babylon-Sippar collection of the British Museum, including an edition of ca. 60 unpublished tablets from that collection. The Late Babylonian period (ca. 700 BCE – 100 AD) is a pivotal era of innovations in Mesopotamian scholarship. The mathematisation of scholarship, as witnessed by the increasing use of mathematical approaches in the astral sciences (astronomy, astrology), divination, healing practices, commentaries, hermeneutics and cultic practices is a Late Babylonian innovation, which subsequently informed scholarly practices throughout the ancient world and beyond. A more complete understanding of Late Babylonian mathematical practices is therefore of great importance for Assyriology and for the historiography of knowledge and science in general. However, Late Babylonian mathematics, currently represented by ca. 115 tablets, remains sparsely documented and studied compared to earlier Mesopotamian mathematics and Late Babylonian mathematical astronomy. This project significantly expands the Late Babylonian mathematical corpus, also adding at least one hitherto unknown textual genre. It will investigate material, formal, epistemic, conceptual, diagrammatic, practical, contextual and institutional aspects of all mathematical tablets of the Babylon-Sippar collection. It will include a comparative study with earlier mathematical practices aimed at identifying continuities, transformations and innovations, a study of the connections with Late Babylonian mathematical practices in other areas of scholarship, and an exploratory investigation of the practical applications in accounting and measurement. The project will result in a fuller understanding of Late Babylonian mathematical practices and the mathematisation of Late Babylonian scholarship.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants