Ancient Mesopotamian clay seals offer clues to the origin of writing

The world’s oldest recognized writing system might have had its origins within the imagery on adorned cylinders used to indicate possession. A number of the symbols on these cylinder seals correspond to these utilized in proto-cuneiform, a type of proto-writing utilized in Mesopotamia.

The discovering signifies that the invention of writing in Mesopotamia was a decentralised course of, by which many individuals throughout a large space contributed to the set of symbols used.

“There’s been this longstanding reconstruction of how writing appeared in Mesopotamia, which is arguably the earliest invention of writing on the earth,” says Silvia Ferrara on the College of Bologna in Italy. “We’re retracing the trajectory in a manner that’s extra, I might say, vibrant, much less straitjacketed.”

The oldest recognized true writing system is cuneiform, invented round 3200 BC in Mesopotamia. It was preceded by a less complicated system referred to as proto-cuneiform, which was in use from 3350 to 3000 BC.

Proto-writing like proto-cuneiform is distinguished by an absence of grammatical guidelines, which suggests it can not convey advanced meanings, says Amy Richardson on the College of Studying within the UK, who wasn’t concerned within the analysis. As an illustration, proto-cuneiform can be utilized to label one thing as “seven bushels of wheat”, however solely true writing like cuneiform can say “seven bushels of wheat shall be delivered to you”.

The origins of proto-cuneiform have typically been traced to clay tokens. These got here in a wide range of shapes, comparable to discs and spheres, and have been typically engraved with patterns. The tokens might be pressed into moist clay, creating a logo. A number of the symbols on the tokens are much like these present in proto-cuneiform, as documented by Denise Schmandt-Besserat on the College of Texas at Austin in her two-volume guide Before Writing in 1992.

There’s some proof for a job of tokens within the origin of proto-cuneiform, says Ferrara. “However you can not clarify all of the indicators.”

Ferrara and her colleagues Kathryn Kelley and Mattia Cartolano, additionally on the College of Bologna, have as an alternative explored one other supply of symbols: cylinder seals. These cylindrical objects have patterns and pictures embossed on them, and depart an oblong assortment of symbols when rolled over sheets of moist clay. The symbols typically referred to items being transported, or to directors concerned in transactions, says Cartolano.

The crew examined cylinder seals from a large space of south-west Asia, together with Mesopotamia, that dated to 4400 to 3400 BC. They discovered a number of symbols that corresponded to proto-cuneiform symbols.

“One of many clearest examples that we discovered is the usage of the pictures of fringed fabric and vessel in a web,” says Cartolano. These have well-understood meanings: they discuss with the transport of products. And they’re discovered each on cylinder seals and proto-cuneiform tablets.

The concept the symbols on cylinder seals led to a few of the symbols in proto-cuneiform was beforehand steered by Holly Pittman on the College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in a 1994 book chapter and developed in later publications. “I’m gratified that, 30 years after I first proposed the basic position of seal imagery within the origins of proto-cuneiform script, {that a} new technology of students have taken up my thought and, with their experience in cuneiform script, have put particulars to my argument,” says Pittman. She provides that within the Nineteen Nineties her thought was dismissed “with out severe consideration”.

“I discover it to be very convincing,” says Richardson. “There does appear to be a very neat correlation within the explicit examples that they’re illustrating on this article.” Her personal analysis has discovered that cylinder seals have been additionally used to record interactions between cities.

This doesn’t imply that tokens didn’t play a job. “I feel there’s nonetheless some sturdy arguments to make that these tokens actually are a part of the inspiration of abstraction,” says Richardson. Specifically, they appear to have been essential for the event of counting techniques.

If proto-cuneiform actually did come up on this hodge-podge manner, drawn from tokens, cylinder seals and presumably different sources, it might inform us one thing about who was inventing it, says Ferrara. “There’s proof for making a declare that the invention of writing in Mesopotamia was, in reality, far more decentralised than we expect,” she says. Whereas highly effective individuals in the major city of Uruk little doubt performed a job, maybe so did different directors and tradespeople scattered over the area. “I feel there’s proof for having a extra widespread… and extra distributed immediate to writing,” she says.

Writing was first used for administration, not for storytelling. “These first written information are typically about making an attempt to organise supplies, items, individuals, issues,” says Richardson. “It’s very a lot about looking for methods of making a social system.”