Measuring crops with the \textit{šukunnûm}-number (Q2145716)

This paper concerns crop measurement and computation in the Larsa region of southern Mesopotamia during the Old Babylonian period, specifically year 35 of the reign of Hammurabi. The source is an (illicitly-excavated and dispersed) archive belonging to Šamaš-hazir, manager of the agricultural land on behalf of the palace. One of Šamaš-hazir's tasks was to report annual estimated barley crops to the palace some months before harvest. Observation of the density and vigor of the first barley shoots in spring allowed an estimation of a field's productivity in terms of quantity of barley, measured in \textit{gur} (ca.\ 300 liters), per area in \textit{bur} (ca. 6.48 hectares). The yield rate, given as a round number, is the \textit{šukunnûm}-number, effectively an agricultural coefficient. Surveyors measuring out individual fields used more precise area units than the \textit{bur}, and the farmers responsible for the production of individual fields recorded the quantity of harvest using a series of units smaller than the \textit{gur}. The rounding and approximation happened as yields for individual fields were aggregated for reporting at the level of the palace administration.