Sumerian signs for sheep and

goats with male to female

correspondence.
Signs taken from Archaic Bookkeeping by Hans J. Nissen, Peter Damerow, Robert K.
Englund, and translated by Paul Larsen; page 89.
Organization of top graphic by Jennifer Ball © April 29, 2011.

Who knew Sumerians were electricians? These depictions seem to indicate the parts of ani-
mals that “plug” together, probably because that’s how you make more animals. The darker
sign on the left is the Sumerian equivalent of the definition on right. The grayed-out sign
next to it is the complementary sex partner of the animal on the left (ram to ewe, male lamb
to female lamb, etc.). These signs depict the bottoms—the genitalia—of animals in a sym-
bolic way.

Sign comp. sex Pronunciation English meaning

Sign Pronunciation English meaning