Kethari Census Tablet of the Pearl Districts

Bureaucracy in clay. This census tablet reveals the Kethari temple administration counted every pearl harvested in every district — then taxed them. Whether this represents sacred stewardship or economic extraction depends on which scholar you ask.

Inscription

Keth-ari meren-an nim-an kov tun ven gar. Gol-un ven thal-un reth-an sha-na. Vor-an pel-an keth-shal-eth kin-na. Ash-keth-na dun-an keth-ari-im.

/keθ.aɾi meɾen.an nim.an kov tun ven gaɾ / gol.un ven θal.un ɾeθ.an ʃa.na / voɾ.an pel.an keθ.ʃal.eθ kin.na / aʃ.keθ.na dun.an keθ.aɾi.im/

Translation

“Of the great Flame People, seventy-three children [are counted]. The copper-workers and craftsmen of the earth speak. From the water roads and the paths of the flame-temple, they are observed. The darkness shall not extinguish the Flame People.”

Interlinear Analysis(click to expand)

Form	Gloss	POS
Keth-ari	flame-people [NOM]	noun
meren-an	great-GEN	adjective
nim-an	child-GEN	noun
kov	seven	numeral
tun	ten	numeral
ven	and	conjunction
gar	three	numeral
gol-un	copper.worker [NOM]	noun
ven	and	conjunction
thal-un	craftsman [NOM]	noun
reth-an	earth-GEN	noun
sha-na	speak-PRES	verb
vor-an	water-GEN	noun
pel-an	road-GEN	noun
keth-shal-eth	flame.temple-ABL	noun
kin-na	observe-PRES	verb
ash-keth-na	NEG-burn-PRES	verb
dun-an	dark-GEN	noun
keth-ari-im	flame.people-PL	noun

Script: top-to-bottom, right-to-left

Description

A large rectangular clay tablet covered in orderly rows of Kethari logographic script, recording pearl harvest quantities from twelve river districts. Small impressed circles in groups represent pearl counts — the earliest known use of a tally system in the basin. One edge is stamped with the cylindrical seal of the Fourth Flame temple administration. The tablet records a total harvest of 1,247 pearls across one season, with district-by-district breakdowns.

Scholarly Analysis(click to expand)

This tablet is a key artifact in the Pearl Monopoly debate. Dr. Tanaka-Reeves points to the district-by-district accounting as evidence of centralized economic control — "you don't count what you don't intend to tax." Dr. Okonjo argues the seal of the Fourth Flame (Sea Flame) marks this as a religious inventory, not a tax roll. The twelve districts match the twelve Vorrashi clans, suggesting administrative continuity from the earlier period. The tally system (impressed circles in groups of 10, 50, and 100) predates any known numeral system in the basin.

Provenance(click to expand)

discoverer: Graduate student Priya Anand
discovery date: 2024-11-15
condition notes: Nearly complete — small chip on lower-right corner. Script fully legible. Seal impression crisp. Excellent preservation due to dry archive conditions.
excavation team: Ashenmere Institute Field Team 3
discovery location: Fourth Temple archive room, Kethport, Stratum IV