Adolescence may seem like a relatively new concept, but the word has been in use for more than half a millennium now, and we have some evidence that the behaviors associated with it have been seen long before.
A letter from ancient Mesopotamia, nearly 4000 years old, shows that even back then, kids were griping about not having the same standard of clothing as their peers!
Kids Demanding Nicer Clothing Is Timeless
In 1790BC (the letter is thought to have been written around that time), popular brand names, television commercials for designer clothing, and limited edition shoes named for sports stars were not common, but peer pressure still existed when it came to clothing.
This letter, chiseled into a stone tablet currently housed in the Louvre, is from a student and addresses his mother.
We don’t know the writer’s exact age, but it’s clear that he has some big feelings of envy and FOMO as he compares his clothing to that of his peers (or fellow students who he doesn’t quite seem to think are on his level).
What’s He Saying?
The letter, from Iddin-Sin, addressing his mother, Mrs. Zinu, was obtained by the Louvre in 1922 but was first translated in 1967 by Assyriologist Adolf Leo Oppenheim. According to LBV Magazine, the message to his mother reads, in part:
“From year to year, the clothes of young gentlemen here improve, but you let my clothes deteriorate year by year. In fact, you insist on making my clothes poorer and sparser. In a time when wool is consumed in our house like bread, you’ve made me poor clothing.”
That’s not all. In a complaint familiar to parents today, he goes on to complain that one of his classmates has nicer clothing and more of it- even though, in his estimation, this child may be less deserving- and even accuses his mother of not loving him! He says:
“The son of Adad-iddinam, whose father is merely an assistant to my father, has two new sets of clothes, while you barely care to get me one. Although you gave birth to me and his mother only adopted him, his mother loves him while you don’t love me!”
If Only He’d Known He’d Go Viral More Than 3,700 Years Later
Iddin-Sin would have been a wealthy youth sent off to a boarding school in a temple, where he and his fellow pupils would have been learning to read and write and prepare for their careers when he sent this message home to be relayed to his mother.
Now his missive is making the rounds of social media, recently getting new attention after historian Dr. Esmé Louise James shared it on her TikTok account. The long-ago teen could never have imagined that the whole world would see it millennia after he penned his annoyed note. (Maybe he’d have tried for a slightly more polite tone if he could have seen the future.)
Watch below:
Adolescence May Be A Social Construct, But Petulant Youth Is Eternal
In examining the notion of adolescence, the Mass Cultural Council notes that the development period has emerged from societal changes that make the moody and impulsive teen years possible.
Though the word was first used in the 15th century, its current use came about in 1904. It describes a period when boys are no longer sent out to start their employment or apprenticeships but instead attend school and, in some cases, spend the hours after school getting into various types of trouble.
Modern society might find adolescence a modern concept, but Mrs. Zinu would likely have recognized the description long before anyone had a degree in child development.