Abstract
This article investigates the semantics and usage patterns of Akkadian spatial prepositions in the
context of topological and projective relations, analyzing various cuneiform texts from Babylonia and
Assyria, predominantly from the 1st millennium BC and to a lesser part from the 2nd millennium BC.
This investigation aims at demonstrating the potential of applying linguistic elicitation tools, such as
the Topological Relations Picture Series and the ON–IN scale, to the analysis of the prepositional systems
of ancient languages like Akkadian, in order to reconstruct the conceptualization of spatial relations
by their speakers. The results of this study will be of interest not only to Assyriologists, but also to
comparative research in the Semitic languages and to linguistics concerned with spatial language.