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An example of a cylinder seal (left) and its design imprinted on clay (right). Source: Louvre Museum
Until now, it was believed that the oldest writing system in the world originated in an ancient Mesopotamian city called Uruk (now Iraq) around 3200 BC. This writing is known as proto-cuneiform.
However, this system was preceded by stone images engraved on ancient cylindrical seals in Uruk around 3000 BC. The study showed that the origins of writing in Mesopotamia lie in these images created by humans 6000 years ago, ArkeoNews reports.
According to historians, the ancient settlement of Uruk emerged as one of the earliest places of urbanization in Mesopotamia around 3500 BC, influencing much of the Tigris–Euphrates river system from modern Iran to Turkey. Among its many achievements, the city was an important center of culture, including the development of an early writing system.
Researchers at the University of Bologna have discovered a link between proto-cuneiform and ancient stone images engraved on ancient cylinder seals.
These cylinder seals are small stone objects with intricate carvings that were applied to clay tablets to leave an imprint.
According to the researchers, starting in the mid-fourth millennium BCE, cylinder seals were used in Uruk as a component of an accounting system to control the production, storage, and transportation of a variety of consumer goods, especially textiles and agricultural products.
The analysis showed that seal motifs related to the transportation of jugs and cloth were eventually transformed into proto-linear signs, showing for the first time that there is a connection between the two, writes Dailymail.
"The results of this study are a bridging point in the transition from prehistory to history: they show how some images from the still prehistoric era were incorporated into one of the first writing systems devised by man," explained Silvia Ferrara, professor of classical philology and Italian studies at the University of Bologna and head of the research team.
Ferrara and her team found a number of recurring themes in these seals, such as patterns related to the transportation of textiles and ceramics. The fact that early proto-cuneiform signs share the same themes suggests that the seal symbols may have directly influenced or served as inspiration for the proto-cuneiform system.
The researchers noticed that earlier prehistoric seal motifs do not resemble proto-cuneiform signs as much as later prehistoric ones, and gained valuable insights into the timeframe of the evolution of symbolic traditions that influenced the invention of writing.
According to co-researchers Kathryn Kelley and Mattia Cartolano, following the evolution of these images into proto-cuneiform signs, one can see a line of symbolic representation that developed along with the early urban and economic growth of Mesopotamia.
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