Her life
Was Puabi a noblewoman, priestess, or queen?
What is nobody knows? Most likely a queen.
Out of the three seals that were found on her chest, only one of them was used for business, the one she would sign her name with. But the one she used with her name had a symbol on it that tells us her title, but since it is ancient Sumerian, people can't exactly tell what she was. The sign could be nin, which means lady or titled noblewoman, or it could be eres (eresh), which means queen. Back during her time, each city in Sumer was ruled by a separate ruler, a local priest, so that suggests she could've just been a priestess. Either way, whether a queen or something else, they think that she ruled by herself, with no husband, because there is no husband pictured in any relics, which was not common for women of her time. She also might've been the first ever female ruler.
What other previously living thing was buried with her?
1. Servants.
2. Her dog.
3. A snake.
What is servants?
She was buried with multiple other men and women servants who many of them appeared to have been sacrificed to serve her in the afterlife, but only three were in her actual tomb with her. The others were in separate ones adjacent to her tomb.
Where was Puabi from?
1. Lagash
2. Ur
3. Kish
What is Ur?
But they think that she might've not been from Ur actually, and actually from Akkad, which is the empire that took over Ur in later years, because of her name written on her seal. It is written in Akkadian, and it meant "Word of the father". (Ur was the capital of Sumer, which is in modern day Iraq). The Sumerians were really good architects and builders, and they had a massive royal palace with huge staircases, large columns, and paneled walls. They also were the first inventors of the ziggurat, sun-dried bricks, and created the idea that there would be 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour, and also that there were 360° in a circle. (They also practiced polytheism, the worship of many gods.)
Which items were found in her tomb?
1. A chariot, a lion's head horn, and her headdress.
2. Her headdress, jewelry, and a statue of Ra.
3. The Royal Game of Ur, her headdress, and a lyre.
What is The Royal Game of Ur, her headdress, and a lyre.
She was buried in one of the most richest tombs ever found. The Royal Game of Ur was one of the oldest known board games in the world, dating to around 2600–2400 BCE. The board was made of wood with fancy shells, lapis lazuli, and red limestone. It has 20 squares. The game is a two-player race game of strategy and luck. Players use dice (normally four-sided) to race their pieces across the board and get them off before their opponent. Queen Puabi's headdress was made of many precious metals and stones. The headdress in total weighs over 6 pounds. And the lyre, which was one of the oldest stringed instruments found, had a bull made of gold and lapis lazuli on the front.
How old was Puabi when she died?
1. 40
2. 26
3. 52
What is 40? And she was not even 5 ft tall.
What 3 stones and metals were embedded in Puabi's headdress found in her tomb?
1. Jasper, onyx, and silver
2. Lapis lazuli, carnelian, and gold
4. Agate, turquoise, and copper
What is lapis lazuli, carnelian, and gold? They were found all over her tomb. The walls were made of limestone and sun-dried bricks.
What was she found lying in when her tomb was discovered?
1. A stone table.
2. A golden casket.
3. A wooden bier.
What is a wooden bier?
Used for holding the casket in now a days. Almost looks like a table. She was found lying on that with her headdress on, the seals on her chest, and stringed beads covering her entire upper body.
Who found Puabi's tomb?
1. Charles Leonard Woolley
2. John Marshall
3. Howard Carter
What is Charles Leonard Woolley? A British archaeologist who graduated from Oxford.
When did she live?
1. Around 2600 BC – 2350 BC.
2. Around 1450 BC - 945 BC.
3. Around 15 AD - 45 AD.
What is around the Early Dynastic III period (ca. 2600 BC – 2350 BC). (Before the Akaddians took over Sumer.
When was Puabi's tomb found?
1. 1932
2. 1927
3. 1923
What is 1927? It was found in very late December of that year, maybe even first few days of January. On January 4, the Penn Museum received a telegram saying that he had found Queen Puabi's tomb.