Editing Alulim (section)

==Name==
Alulim's name was written in [[cuneiform]] as ''A<sub>2</sub>-lu-lim'' or ''A-lu-lim'' and can be translated from [[Sumerian language|Sumerian]] as either "horn of the [[red deer]]" or "seed of the red deer" depending on the variable first sign.{{sfn|Peterson|2018|p=38}} Jeremiah Peterson suggests that it might reflect the Mesopotamian belief that at the dawn of history, when Alulim was believed to live, humans behaved in animal-like manner, as attested in texts such as ''[[Debate between sheep and grain|Sheep and Grain]]'' or ''How Grain Came to Sumer''.{{sfn|Peterson|2018|p=39}} A further attested spelling, Alulu, written ''A-lu-lu'', might represent an [[Akkadian language|Akkadianized]] form.{{sfn|Peterson|2018|p=38}} The name Ayalu, known from the ''Uruk List of Kings and Sages'' (Paired with [[Apkallu]] [[Adapa]]){{sfn|Lenzi|2008|p=142}} where it is written ''A-a-lu'', appears to be another variant, resulting from reinterpretation reliant on the partially [[homophonous]] word ''ayyalu'', 'deer' or 'stag'.{{sfn|Peterson|2018|p=38}}

The name Alulim is not attested in any [[Early Dynastic Period (Mesopotamia)|Early Dynastic]] sources and was never used as an ordinary given name.{{sfn|Marchesi|2010|p=237}} The only indirect parallels are the occurrences of individuals named Alulu (with variable spelling) in early texts from [[Shuruppak|Fara]] and other pre-[[Sargonic dynasty|Sargonic]] sites.{{sfn|Steinkeller|2017|pp=61-62}}