From Georgina Skipper, Weymouth, Dorset, UK
The story of the gradual decipherment of proto-Elamic script is fascinating and impressive. However, the reason “cow” doesn’t appear with “plough” is probably because they used a different sign for “ox”. An ox was a beast of burden and used for ploughing. A cow was for milk and calving. The fact that we modern English speakers retain the two words – despite not having used oxen since the industrial revolution – shows that the distinction was important (9 May, p 30).
