It might not look like the text we’re familiar with today, but this cylinder could signify the origins of writing, experts believe.
Researchers have discovered links between very old cylinder seals and the world’s first writing system.
Their study focused on Uruk, an area in southern Iraq, which was an immensely important centre of culture and trade around 6,000 years ago.
Cylinder seals, made of stone, were invented in this area. They were engraved with designs and then rolled across clay tablets to print their motifs onto them.
From 4400BC onwards, 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 into clay, which could signify the origins of writing, experts believe
A 5,000 year old clay tablet, which is thought to carry the ‘world’s first autograph’
The ruins of Uruk in the Al-Muthanna province, Iraq, which was founded in 5,000 BC
Now, experts have found a link between these cylinders and proto-cuneiform – the first symbol-based script which emerged around 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 seal motifs related to the transport of jars and cloth were eventually transformed into proto-cuneiform signs, showing for the first time there is continuity between both.
For example, there are striking similarities between engravings on cylinder seals which depicted vessels and fringed cloth and the later proto-cuneiform symbols for the same thing.
The discovery proves that the motifs known from cylinder seals are directly related to the development of writing in southern Iraq, and gives important new insights into the evolution of symbol systems and writing, the researchers said.
Cylinder seal motifs were regularly used between 4400-3400BC. In comparison, the ancient Egyptians invented hieroglyphs around 3250BC.
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 an immensely important centre of culture and trade around 6,000 years ago
Professor Silvia Ferrara, co-author of the study, said: ‘The close relationship between ancient sealing and the invention of writing in southwest Asia has long been recognised, but the relationship between specific seal images and sign shapes has hardly been explored.
‘Did seal imagery contribute significantly to the invention of signs in the first writing of the region?
‘The conceptual leap from pre-writing symbolism to writing is a significant development in human cognitive technologies.
‘The invention of writing marks the transition between prehistory and history, and the findings of this study bridge this divide by illustrating how some late prehistoric images were incorporated into one of the earliest invented writing systems.’
The findings were published in the journal Antiquity.
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