Cuneiform Sign Gan2

A field, land surface, or area measure, depending on context. Among its Sumerian readings (Sumerian was a language of ancient Mesopotamia), scholars write ašag and gana₂ (“field”) and iku (“area unit”). These Latin-letter transliterations label readings; they are not automatic English translations. Nearby signs, numbers, language, and period decide which value fits.

Proto-cuneiform, the earliest stage of cuneiform writing, appears in Uruk administrative records by the end of the fourth millennium BCE. In those records, GAN₂ was one of several systems for counting and measuring land and managed resources; it served record-keeping, not one fixed gloss.

Why does GAN₂ have several readings?

The writing around it determines whether it names land or a measure. In the third millennium BCE, GAN₂ and a-ša₃ could both appear in land-surface notation. Old Babylonian measurement lists—tables of units and what they measure—separate their roles: a-ša₃ names the surface, while GAN₂ marks its measure. The reading of GAN₂ in those lists is not always recoverable.

Cuneiform forms vary by period, region, and writing style. The font’s version identifies the sign; it is not a facsimile of every tablet.

What does it mean when someone sends 𒃷?

It identifies a cuneiform sign, not one settled translation. A lone glyph gives too little context to tell which Sumerian value the sender intended. Ask which reading or source they mean before treating it as the English word “field.”