Cuneiform to left-to-right in horizontal rows (rotating all of the pictographs 90° counter-clockwise in the process) and a new wedge-tipped stylus was introduced which was pushed into the clay, producing wedge-shaped ("cuneiform") signs; these two developments made writing quicker and easier. By adjusting the relative position of the tablet to the stylus, the writer could use a single tool to make a variety of impressions. Cuneiform tablets could be fired in kilns to bake them hard, and so provide a permanent record, or they could be left moist and recycled, if permanence was not needed. Many of the clay tablets found
NIN (cuneiform) NIN (cuneiform) The Sumerian word NIN (from the Akkadian pronunciation of the sign EREŠ) was used to denote a queen or a priestess, and is often translated as "lady". Other translations include "queen", "mistress", "proprietress", and "lord". Many goddesses are called NIN, such as NIN.GAL ("great lady"), É.NIN.GAL ("lady of the great temple"), EREŠ.KI.GAL, and NIN.TI. The compound form NIN.DINGIR ("divine lady" or "lady of [a] god"), from the Akkadian "entu", denotes a priestess. NIN originated as a ligature of the cuneiform glyphs of MUNUS () and TÚG (); the NIN sign was written as MUNUS.TÚG () in archaic cuneiform,