A frequently used symbol, apparently the royal symbol of the queens themselves, that was used in documents and on objects to designate the queens was a scorpion.[10] In Mesopotamian art, scorpions were closely connected with fertility and they are known from artwork as a religious symbol from prehistoric times. Another possible association was that the scorpion symbol represented the queen as a fierce and ideal mother; the term for a female scorpion was tārit zuqaqīpi (lit. 'she who picks up the scorpion'), closely related to the term tarû ("to arise, to pick up", also used in the meaning of "child-nurse" or "nanny").[11]