Somewhere in central Turkey, roughly four thousand years ago, a man named Laqipum and a woman named Hatala sat down, in the company of witnesses, and did something remarkably modern.
That's one of 25,000 tablets. Do we know rhe status of translation of the others. The Turp article is behind a paywall. I did find this however.
The tablet was translated by archaeologists from Urhoy (Urfa) University in Turkey. It is apparently connected to Harran University but online there is no English translation of what it offers.
Very interesting, although I'm not sure if this is the oldest evidence of surrogacy. If the definition of surrogacy is the wife giving her husband a slave to sleep with, whose child will be considered her child and not the surrogate's, that's in the Bible. Are these tablets are older than the stories of Abraham and Sarah, or of Jacob and Leah and Rachel?
Thank you for this. 🙏🔥
That's one of 25,000 tablets. Do we know rhe status of translation of the others. The Turp article is behind a paywall. I did find this however.
The tablet was translated by archaeologists from Urhoy (Urfa) University in Turkey. It is apparently connected to Harran University but online there is no English translation of what it offers.
https://syriacpress.com/blog/2025/01/04/ancient-clay-tablet-reveals-earliest-diagnosis-of-infertility/
Fabulous. These earlier humans had a far higher sense of civilisation and existence than our modern contemporaries.
I’m going to file this under “Absolutely Fascinating” 😍
Thank you! I'm glad you found it fascinating. 😊
Very interesting, although I'm not sure if this is the oldest evidence of surrogacy. If the definition of surrogacy is the wife giving her husband a slave to sleep with, whose child will be considered her child and not the surrogate's, that's in the Bible. Are these tablets are older than the stories of Abraham and Sarah, or of Jacob and Leah and Rachel?
Yes they are.
But it shows the idea was widespread in the Bronze Age Mideast.
Note the concern for a male heir. That doesn't suggest gender equality.
Has anything similar been found in ancient Egypt before the Greek conquest?
BTW, the reason for this tablet technology to track financial records is the lack of currency.