Using the News in the Classroom: World's Oldest Complaint Letter

Written on a clay tablet, an ancient cuneiform letter of complaint is the world’s oldest such letter ever found. Cuneiform was an early writing system. The letter dates back to about 1750 BCE!

Read more about this artifact.

1. Where was the cuneiform letter found?____________
2. Who wrote the letter?______________
3. What were THREE complaints the man had in his letters to a supplier known as Ea-nasir?__________________ ______________ _____________
4. Although not on current display, where is this cuneiform letter kept? __________________
5. What is the name for the earliest known Semitic language?_______
6. Have you ever been unhappy about something you purchased or received? What was the item?________________________________
7. Have you ever written a letter to a company? Do you think it might have helped to contact the company?________________________
8. Pretend you are Ea-nasir and write a letter back to the customer.
9. What might you offer the customer to make him happy?
10. Many artifacts are located in countries other than where they originated. Some of the countries want their historic artifacts back. What do you think about this issue?________________________________
11. Archaeologists find many artifacts(things made and used) left behind by ancient cultures. What are two things we can learn from artifacts?____________________________
12. If you could leave 7 things for a future archaeologist to find to tell about your culture, what would you place in a box and why?____________________________________________________

Gail Hennessey

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