Sex, Beer & Politics: Riddles from the ancient Mesopotamians.
Millennia before modern-day Americans made fun of their politicians or cracked crude jokes over a cold one, people in ancient Mesopotamia were doing much the same thing.
The evidence of sex, politics and beer-drinking comes from a newly translated tablet, dating back more than 3,500 years, which reveals a series of riddles.
umor
Some of the decoded riddles are crude and sexual, while others are complex and metaphorical. One of them reveals what appears to be a bit of political humor, albeit with a dark, violent twist.
He gouged out the eye:
It is not the fate of a dead man.
He cut the throat: A dead man (-Who is it?)
The answer is a governor.
"This riddle describes the power of a governor namely to act as a judge who punishes or sentences to death," write Streck and Wasserman in the journal article.
In(?) your mouth and your teeth (or: your urine)
constantly stared at you
the measuring vessel of your lord (-What is it?)
The answer........... guess before looking at link.
Another one:
One of the riddles appears to rely on metaphor to get its point across.
The tower is high
it is high, but nonetheless has no shade (- What is it?)
The answer is ........ guess before looking at link.
Like a fish in a fish pond
Like troops before the king (-What is it?)
The answer is ....... guess before looking at link.
http://www.livescience.com/18147-ancient-riddles-decoded-mesopotamia.html