Language, whether spoken or written, is among the greatest inventions of mankind. Through language, human beings can communicate ideas and information, can pass the accumulated knowledge of civilization from one generation to the next. It was in the ancient Near East that men first began to keep written records of daily life, taking permanent note of commercial, legal and personal affairs. This clay tablet was inscribed with a reed stylus centuries ago and then fired. Ironically, the people, the business, and the mighty empire it evokes have all vanished with time. Yet, when we hold this modest token in our hands today, we are in direct communication with that ancient world.