Toward an Ontology of theSumerian Language
F. D’Agostino – S. Alivernini – C.M. Scalzo
Sumer at the End of the IIIrd Mill. BC
Core and Periphery of Sumer
Uruk IV (3200 BC ca)
Uruk III (3100 BC ca)
Early Dynastic I-II (2900-2650 BC ca)
Early Dynastic I-II (2900-2650 BC ca)
Early Dynastic III (2650-2350 BC ca)
Ur III (2112-2004 BC)
Ur III (2112-2004 BC)
Old Babylonian Period (2000-1500 BC ca)
Agglutination
Latin: filiis; *fili-is
*-is = 1) plur.; 2) dat.; 3) masc.
*dumu-(3)nita2-(1)ene-(2)ra
Ergativity
lugal-e e2-Ø in(= i+n)-du3-Ø The king built a temple
lugal-Ø i3-gin-Ø The king went
rex templum exstruxit The king built a temple
rex ivit The king went
Verbal Incorporation
The king drank beer in the garden with the general
lugal-e1 kaš-Ø2 šagina-da3 giškiri6-a4
*i-n+da3-b+a4-n1-nag-Ø2
(FINITE VERB)-him+with-it+in-he(past, cl. A)-drink-(it)
Ontology
T-Box
• Concepts
• Hierarchy among the concepts
• Properties of concepts
A-Box
• Facts
Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box
Grammatical Rules
A-Box
All the Sumerian texts
Our Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box
The grammar of one text
A-Box
The brick foundation of
Ur-Namma king of Ur
Our Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
T-Box
Nominal_Chain
Possessive
Case_Marker
Verbal_Chain
Prefix
Dimensional_Infix
Pronominal_Infix
A-Box
a-ni : Possessive
mu : Prefix
Brick foundation of Ur-Namma (2112-2095 BC)
dNannalugal-a-ni
Ur-dNamma
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4
e2-a-ni
mu-na-du3
bad3-Urim5ki-ma
mu-na-du3
Transliteration and Translation
dNanna To the God Nanna,
lugal-a-ni his king,
Ur-dNamma Ur-Namma,
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4 the king of Ur,
e2-a-ni his temple
mu-na-du3 built,
bad3-Urim5ki-ma the walls of Ur
mu-na-du3 built.
Grammar of the Text
dNanna noun (= god) + (dative case)
lugal-a-ni noun (= substantive) + possessive adjective (a-ni)
Ur-dNamma noun (= personal name)
lugal-Urim5ki-ma-ke4 noun (= substantive) + genitive (noun = city+ ak) +
ergative
e2-a-ni noun (substantive) + possessive adjective (a-ni)
mu-na-du3 verbal chain: prefix (mu) + dimensional infix (na) +
verb (du3)
bad3-Urim5ki-ma noun (substantive) + genitive (city + a<k>)
mu-na-du3 verbal chain: prefix (mu) + dimensional infix (na) +
verb (du3)
Ontology of Sumerian Grammar
• Final report (in pdf format): “Progetto ME. L’ontologia di una grammatica sumerica” (http://dx.doi.org/10.1683/ab0002)
• Ontology in OWL format: Ur_Namma.owl (http://dx.doi.org/10.1683/me0004)
Dhi Qar project
Project purposes
The Dhi Qar project aims at proposing a new way to manage archaeological and epigraphic finds by developing a knowledge-based cataloguing system
Knowledge base
• Knowledge about archaeological and epigraphic finds is represented in a knowledge base.
• The knowledge base describes finds in a logical way by representing their characteristics.
• Knowledge is represented as a set of concepts and their relationships (i.e., an ontology)
Knowledge base
FindFind
TabletTablet
EnvelopEnvelop
StampStamp
Knowledge base
MaterialMaterial
FindFind
is made of
ShapeShape
has
SizeSize
has
HeightHeight WidthWidth AltitudeAltitude
Knowledge base
• More information about finds:– Epigraphic characteristics– Visual characteristics– Dating and origin– …
Knowledge base
– The use of a knowledge base provides the opportunity to systematically integrate the points of view from different disciplines.
– Both categories specification and observational criteria are defined by scientists of all contemplated disciplines (archeology, epigraphy, ...)
– This knowledge is represented by using a formal system (Description Logics), which provides reasoning capabilities to follow the relations across the information structures, thus deriving more knowledge
Accessing the knowledge base
• The presence of a knowledge base makes possible to ask queries in order to facilitate the access to the catalogue
• As an example, it will be possible to ask for all the scholastic tablets from a given period having circular shape.
• In the same way, it will be possible to ask for all the stamps having cylindrical shape and representing human figures
Input forms change dynamically with respect to the features of the find
For each find in the catalogue, the user can also see a (logic-based) graphical representation of its features