It may not look like the text we know today, but this cylinder could mark the origin of writing, experts think.
Researchers have discovered links between very ancient cylinder seals and the world’s first writing system.
Their research focused on Uruk, an area in southern Iraq that was a hugely important center of culture and trade some 6,000 years ago.
Cylinder seals made of stone were invented in this area. They were engraved with designs and then rolled over clay tablets to imprint their motifs on them.
From 4400 BC, these seals were used as part of an accounting system for tracking the production, storage and movement of agricultural and textile products.
An example of a cylinder seal and its imprint in clay, which could signify the origin of writing, experts believe
A 5,000-year-old clay tablet, thought to bear the ‘world’s first signature’
The ruins of Uruk in Al-Muthanna Province, Iraq, founded in 5000 BC
Now experts have found a link between these cylinders and proto-cuneiform writing – the first symbol-based writing system that emerged about 1,000 years later.
Researchers from the University of Bologna compared cylinder seal motifs with proto-cuneiform symbols and found that there is a direct link between the two.
Analysis revealed that seal motifs associated with the transportation of pots and cloth were eventually converted into proto-cuneiform glyphs, demonstrating for the first time that there is continuity between the two.
For example, there are striking similarities between engravings on cylinder seals depicting vessels and fringed cloth, and the later proto-cuneiform symbols for the same.
The discovery proves that the motifs known from cylinder seals are directly related to the development of writing in southern Iraq, and provides important new insights into the evolution of symbol systems and writing, the researchers said.
Between 4400 and 3400 BC. cylinder seal motifs were regularly used. By comparison, the ancient Egyptians found around 3250 B.C. hieroglyphics.
A tablet from the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, who amassed a collection of thousands of cuneiform tablets
The remains of Uruk in southern Iraq, which was a hugely important center of culture and trade about 6,000 years ago
Professor Silvia Ferrara, co-author of the study, said: ‘The close relationship between ancient seals and the invention of writing in Southwest Asia has long been recognized, but the relationship between specific seal images and sign forms has been scarcely explored.
‘Did the depiction of seals make an important contribution to the invention of signs in the region’s first writings?
‘The conceptual leap from pre-writing symbolism to writing is an important development in human cognitive technologies.
‘The invention of writing marks the transition between prehistory and history, and the findings of this study bridge this gap by illustrating how some late prehistoric images became incorporated into one of the earliest invented writing systems.’
The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.