Strings and Threads : A Celebration of the Work of Anne Draffkorn Kilmer

Anne Draffkorn Kilmer has had a long and fruitful career as an academic in Assyriology. After receiving her doctorate in Philadelphia and serving as assistant to Benno Landsberger in Chicago, she came to Berkeley in 1963 and stayed there for the long term, despite offers from other universities. During her career, in addition to her many contributions to Assyriology and ancient musicology, she served the university in various administrative functions. In Assyriology, her wide and varied interests included lexical texts, mathematics, animals, entertainment, and especially music. Her discoveries were often unexpected and dramatic. In this volume, the essays presented in her honor focus on many of Prof. Kilmer’s primary interests. The contributions are divided into two sections, reflecting the title, “Strings and Threads.” The “strings” portion of the volume collects essays that follow her interest in musicology and related matters, especially “music archaeology.” It is well known that she studied ancient Hurrian, Mesopotamian, and Ugaritic texts containing musical notations and/or songs, and has been at the forefront of decipherment and explanation of these texts. And a number of essays in this volume address various aspects of ancient music, whether it be the lyrics of the songs or the pictorial representation of music-making or the language in which music is described. In the “threads” portion of the volume are collected essays on various aspects of Mesopotamian narrative literature, an area to which Anne contributed significant insight on the structure of compositions and verbal wordplay used by ancient authors. A number of the articles in the volume follow up on or parallel Prof. Kilmer’s work in this area. Contributors include: G. Azarpay, D. Collon, J. Cooper, R. L. Crocker, D. Foxvog, E. Hickmann, A. B. Knapp, E. Leichty, S. L. Macgregor, S. B. Noegel, D. Pickworth, E. Robson, J. C. Ross, D. Schmandt-Besserat, D. Stronach, and R. L. Zettler. The volume concludes with a bibliography and an index of the works of A. D. Kilmer.

Anne Draffkorn Kilmer has had a long and fruitful career as an academic in Assyriology. After receiving her doctorate in Philadelphia and serving as assistant to Benno Landsberger in Chicago, she came to Berkeley in 1963 and stayed there for the long term, despite offers from other universities. During her career, in addition to her many contributions to Assyriology and ancient musicology, she served the university in various administrative functions. In Assyriology, her wide and varied interests included lexical texts, mathematics, animals, entertainment, and especially music. Her discoveries were often unexpected and dramatic.

In this volume, the essays presented in her honor focus on many of Prof. Kilmer’s primary interests. The contributions are divided into two sections, reflecting the title, “Strings and Threads.” The “strings” portion of the volume collects essays that follow her interest in musicology and related matters, especially “music archaeology.” It is well known that she studied ancient Hurrian, Mesopotamian, and Ugaritic texts containing musical notations and/or songs, and has been at the forefront of decipherment and explanation of these texts. And a number of essays in this volume address various aspects of ancient music, whether it be the lyrics of the songs or the pictorial representation of music-making or the language in which music is described. In the “threads” portion of the volume are collected essays on various aspects of Mesopotamian narrative literature, an area to which Anne contributed significant insight on the structure of compositions and verbal wordplay used by ancient authors. A number of the articles in the volume follow up on or parallel Prof. Kilmer’s work in this area.

Contributors include: G. Azarpay, D. Collon, J. Cooper, R. L. Crocker, D. Foxvog, E. Hickmann, A. B. Knapp, E. Leichty, S. L. Macgregor, S. B. Noegel, D. Pickworth, E. Robson, J. C. Ross, D. Schmandt-Besserat, D. Stronach, and R. L. Zettler. The volume concludes with a bibliography and an index of the works of A. D. Kilmer.

The Imagery Of The Manichean Calli On A Sogdian Funerary Relief From China / Guitty Azarpay -- Chinless Wonders / Dominique Collon -- Puns And Prebends : The Tale Of Enlil And Namzitara / Jerrold S. Cooper -- No Polyphony Before A.d. 900! / Richard L. Crocker -- Aspects Of Name-giving In Presargonic Lagash / Daniel A. Foxvog -- Sweet Psalmist Of Israel : The Kinnór And Royal Ideology In The United Monarchy / John Curtis Franklin -- Music Archaeology As A Field Of Interdisciplinary Research / Ellen Hickmann -- Sound Of Silence : Music And Musical Practice In Late Bronze-iron Age Cyprus / A. Bernard Knapp -- A New Fragment Of Ludlul Bēl Nēmeqi / Erle Leichty -- Foreign Musicians In Neo-assyrian Royal Courts / Sherry Lou Macgregor -- Wordplay In The Song Of Erra / Scott B. Noegel -- Dug Ubur-imin : A Seven-nipple Lid And Seven-nipple Vessels / Diana Pickworth -- The Discovery Of Professor Von Saalbrandt : A Philadelphia Story / Eleanor Robson -- Lost : The Missing Lexical Lists Of The Archaic Period / Jennifer C. Ross -- Spirits And Demons Of All Times / Denise Schmandt-besserat -- A Pipes Player And A Lyre Player : Notes On Three Achaemenid Or Near-achaemenid Silver Rhyta Found In The Vicinity Of Erebuni, Armenia / David Stronach -- Banqueting And Music : An Early Dynastic I Sealing From Nippur / Richard L. Zettler -- Bibliography Of Anne Draffkorn Kilmer's Works. Edited By Wolfgang Heimpel And Gabriella Frantz-szabó. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 287-293) And Index. The imagery of the Manichean eCalli on a Sogdian funerary relief from China / Guitty Azarpay Chinless wonders / Dominique Collon Puns and prebends : the tale of Enlil and Namzitara / Jerrold S. Cooper No polyphony before a.d. 900! / Richard L. Crocker Aspects of name-giving in presargonic Lagash / Daniel A. Foxvog "Sweet psalmist of Israel" : the KinnUr and royal ideology in the United monarchy / John Curtis Franklin Music archaeology as a field of interdisciplinary research / Ellen Hickman Sound of silence : music and musical practice in late BronzenIron Age Cyprus / A. Bernard Knapp A new fragment of Ludlul bl Nmeqi / Erle Leichty Foreign musicians in neo-Assyrian royal courts / Sherry Lou Macgregor "Wordplay" in the Song of Erra / Scott B. Noegel Dug Ubur-Imin : a seven-nipple lid and seven-nipple vessels / Diana Pickworth The Discovery of Professor Von Saalbrandt : a Philadelphia story / Eleanor Robson Lost : the missing lexical lists of the Archaic period / Jennifer C. Ross Spirits and demons of all times / Denise Schmandt-Besserat A pipes player and a lyre player : notes on three Achaemenid or near-Achaemenid silver rhyta found in the vicinity of Erebuni, Armenia / David Stronach Banqueting and music : an early dynastic I sealing from Nippur / Richard L. Zettler Bibliography of Anne Draffkorn Kilmeris works.