Cappadocian tablets

archaeology

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June 22, 2026

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The Cappadocian tablets are ancient clay documents discovered at Kültepe in Turkey, dating back to the early 2nd millennium BCE. These tablets are written in Old Assyrian cuneiform and represent the earliest historical documents found in Anatolia. They provide invaluable insights into the Assyrian merchant colony at Kanesh, detailing trade activities involving textiles and metals between Assyria and Anatolia. The tablets also contain linguistic material that sheds light on the early Hittite language. The region of Cappadocia itself is known for its unique volcanic landscape and ancient rock-cut structures.123

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Anatolian languages
Hittite
…few loanwords found in the Cappadocian tablets, especially those from Nesha dating to circa 2000–1735 bce. These texts are sometimes referred to as “Kaneshite” (at other times, scholars invoke Kültepe, the modern name of the city); the former is obviously the modern equivalent of the word kanisumnili ‘language of the…
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…few loanwords found in the Cappadocian tablets, especially those from Nesha dating to circa 2000–1735 bce. These texts are sometimes referred to as “Kaneshite” (at other times, scholars invoke Kültepe, the modern name of the city); the former is obviously the modern equivalent of the word kanisumnili ‘language of the…
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Kültepe
…the reputed source of so-called Cappadocian tablets in Old Assyrian cuneiform writing and language. Finally, in 1925, Bedřich Hrozný found the source of the tablets in a fortified crescent-shaped area to the south and southeast of the mound proper. That area, called Karum Kanesh by archaeologists, had been inhabited by…
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…the reputed source of so-called Cappadocian tablets in Old Assyrian cuneiform writing and language. Finally, in 1925, Bedřich Hrozný found the source of the tablets in a fortified crescent-shaped area to the south and southeast of the mound proper. That area, called Karum Kanesh by archaeologists, had been inhabited by…
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