The Birds of the Assyrian Monuments and Records. 127 
The Accadian ideograph *-^J^J ]<«<, which, as we have 
seen, must represent the " teeth " or " tusks " of the elephant, 
denotes the " horns " of the rimu or wild ox. In connection 
with the animal called nakhiru which Tiglathpileser killed in 
the Mediterranean Sea, the ha must signify " teeth," probably 
those of a grampus or other cetacean. It was a question 
discussed amongst the ancients whether it was correct to call 
the tusks of the elephant by the name of horns or teeth. 
"Juba," says Pliny (VIII, 8), "called them horns, but by 
Herodotus, a much older writer, as well as more appropriately, 
by general usage they were called teeth "; and these latter he 
remarks are the only part of an elephant which men are anxious 
to procure. See on the question whether tusks should be 
called horns or teeth, ^Elian (" Nat. Anim.," iv, 31 ; Pausanias, 
v, 12; Juba ap. Philostr., "Vit. App. ii," 13, p. 92; Oppian, 
Cyneg., ii, 491, and a much later writer, Philes of Ephesus 
(A.D. 14th century), " Carm. Gr.," viii, 87; Camus '< Notes on 
Aristot. Hist. Anim.," p. 298, note. The linear Baby- 
lonian forms of the Accadian ideograph >-£^~J would 
seem to show that the original picture was " a mouth 
with teeth," and most of the meanings of this sign 
imply a reference to the mouth. The character *>^\ ($i) 
appears to have been a picture of the " horn of an ox "; but 
in time this picture origin was lost, and ca and H were used 
indiscriminately for horns or teeth ; the former sign being 
employed to denote almost any projecting body, like the 
Greek ice pas. 
With respect to the meaning of the word >y^yy ^TII*" "i^TT 
^u-u-Su, which occurs in one of the epigraphs of the Black 
Obelisk of Shalmaneser, I desire to make a few remarks. 
Dr. Lotz believes that this word is the name of the elephant, 
being the Assyrian representative of the Accadian amSi. I 
confess I fail to be convinced by his arguments. It is a 
curious fact that the only instance of occurrence of the 
word 6u6u in the Assyrian record is to be found in the 
epigraph of the Black Obelisk. The employment of this 
word by Assy riolo gists to represent the Accadian ideograph 
V f° r " a norse " i s purely conventional, and 
