By Mathieu Ossendrijver
This ebook includes new translations and a brand new research of the process texts of Babylonian mathematical astronomy, the earliest recognized type of mathematical astronomy of the traditional global. The translations are in accordance with a latest strategy incorporating fresh insights from Assyriology and translation technological know-how.
The paintings comprises up to date and elevated interpretations of the astronomical algorithms and investigations of formerly overlooked linguistic, mathematical and different features of the approach texts.
Special awareness is paid to problems with mathematical illustration and over a hundred photographs of cuneiform capsules courting from 350-50 BCE are presented.
In 2-3 years, the writer intends to proceed his research of Babylonian mathematical astronomy with a brand new e-book in an effort to include new versions and reconstructions of approx. 250 tabular texts and a brand new philological, astronomical and mathematical research of those texts. Tabular texts are finish items of Babylonian math astronomy, computed with algorithms which are formulated within the current quantity, process Texts.
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Additional resources for Babylonian Mathematical Astronomy: Procedure Texts
Example text
Some procedure texts with mathematical astronomy include procedures that belong to nonmathematical astronomy (NMAT); for instance No. 53 (lunar system A) includes a procedure for solstices and equinoxes. Finally, several tablets with procedures for Jupiter include ‘mathematical’ procedures involving trapezoids (cf. 3), but it cannot be ruled out that they have some hitherto unrecognised connection with Jupiter. 5 Transmission and evolution Our ability to trace the transmission and evolution of the procedure texts is limited by the narrow temporal distribution of the tablets.
77 Also the conformal translations exhibit certain problematic features. The demand of strict conformity with the original text results in translations that are sometimes difficult to understand, because Akkadian word order is maintained even if it violates English grammar, and many technical terms are translated with neologisms. Another possibly problematic aspect is the use of etymology for constructing English neologisms that serve as translations of certain technical terms but also of common words.
A perspective from translation theory In order to come up with a practical solution to the problem of translation it is helpful to explore the insights of modern translation theory,78 and seek an answer to the following questions. First, what are the criteria by which the adequacy of a translation can be judged? Second, what does translation theory tell us about the ‘orthodox’ translations and the conformal translations? According to translation theory, translation involves a sender, an original text, a translator, a goal text and a recipient.