Cylindrical seals dating back to 4400 BCE have reinforced the idea that this may be the birthplace of humanity’s earliest writing.
According to Live Science, researchers from the University of Bologna (Italy) analyzed several pre-writing cylindrical seals used by ancient Mesopotamians in agricultural and textile trade activities.
The detailed analysis reveals that cuneiform writing—believed to be the first writing system of humanity—was likely heavily influenced by the symbols on these seals.
A cylindrical seal and the symbols it creates, some of which closely resemble characters from the earliest writing system – (Photo: LOUVRE MUSEUM)
What is astonishing is that these seals were created 4,400 years ago, making them over 6,400 years old.
According to a publication in the scientific journal Antiquity, this discovery supports a previously proposed idea that cuneiform writing developed in Mesopotamia around 3100 BCE.
Scientists also suspect that this writing system originated from accounting methods used to track the production, storage, and transportation of popular goods in the region.
In the new study, the authors specifically point out several symbols on these cylindrical seals that mirror characters in the “primitive cuneiform.”
This writing was found on 5,000-year-old clay tablets from the ancient city of Uruk, part of Southern Mesopotamia, which is now southern Iraq. This is the oldest writing ever excavated.
The seals recently examined were primarily used for transporting ceramic jars and textiles, with some seemingly related to temples.
Such cylindrical seals have been used for millennia across Mesopotamia, where they were rolled onto clay tablets to imprint patterns, often to verify a transaction or to initiate a letter.
Cuneiform writing utilized a stylus to create wedge-shaped impressions on unbaked clay. These impressions produced signs representing sounds to record spoken language.
The clay could be dried or baked, preserving the signs.
Cuneiform was developed by the Sumerian civilization, which established the first cities in southern Mesopotamia around 550-2300 BCE.
This region was later succeeded by the Akkadian Empire, with its capital at Akkad.
The Akkadians adopted the Sumerian writing system but applied it to their own language.
The Akkadian script written in cuneiform subsequently became the prevalent written language of Mesopotamia for over 2,000 years, throughout the subsequent Babylonian and Assyrian periods.
