Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
UK, Nov 13 - Researchers discover that ancient Mesopotamian trade seals could contain the first clues to the world's oldest writing system.
Writing is undoubtedly one of the most powerful tools in human history, allowing communication across time and space. However, its invention, which marks the dividing line between prehistory and history, remains a fascinating enigma. A recent study, published in the journal Antiquity, has shed new light on how the first writing emerged in southern Mesopotamia more than 5,000 years ago. This study suggests that the origins of writing could be traced back to an ancient commercial practice: the use of cylinder seals in business transactions.
The researchers behind this work, led by Kathryn Kelley, Mattia Cartolano and Silvia Ferrara from the University of Bologna, have identified in these seals a series of motifs that could have given rise to the first signs of proto-cuneiform.
The role of seals in administration and trade
Mesopotamian cylinder seals, some of which date back to 4400 BC, long before the invention of writing, were used to leave a personal or institutional mark in clay. These small but extremely important objects were carved with elaborate designs and then rolled on wet clay tablets, leaving imprints of symbolic figures that certified the authenticity of an exchange, the provenance of a product, or the role of an institution in the transaction.
Although these seals did not contain text in the sense we know today, their images reflected a distinctive iconography that may have evolved into proto-cuneiform, the first version of the cuneiform system. In the words of Silvia Ferrara, co-author of the study, the conceptual leap from preliterary symbols to writing is one of the most significant developments in human cognitive technologies. This transition is at the heart of recent research, which proposes that writing emerged in part as a response to the organizational and commercial needs of nascent Mesopotamian cities.
The study's researchers closely analyzed the symbols imprinted on these preliterate seals, used to represent goods, people, and transactions in urban centers in ancient Mesopotamia, in what is now southern Iraq. By comparing these motifs to the signs of proto-cuneiform, the researchers observed certain correspondences. Thus, some symbols representing buildings, cane poles, and fringed cloth—common in the trade of textiles and agricultural products—appear to have been transformed into the first signs of writing.
According to the study, this relationship between commercial symbols and proto-cuneiform suggests that the images on preliterate seals acted as "proto-pictograms" of a nascent script. These symbols, rather than representing sounds, were beginning to be understood for their meaning. The design of a jar, for example, could signify both the object and the notion of trade or storage of a specific product.
The complex trade network that promoted writing
The development of writing would not have been possible without the existence of an advanced commercial system in Mesopotamia at the end of the fourth millennium BC. During this time, known as the Uruk period, the region's early cities began to expand and establish product exchange networks with other urban centers. These cities depended on intensive agriculture, especially in the fertile region between the Tigris and Euphrates, and needed an effective system to manage the flow of goods and resources.
It was in this context of increasing urbanization and administrative complexity that cylinder seals emerged. Initially, the symbols on these seals allowed merchants and administrators to identify shipments of products such as wool, grain, and other essential goods, as well as to indicate the persons or institutions responsible. Over time, the designs of these seals were refined, giving rise to an increasingly standardized and detailed iconography.
Thus, according to the study, seals served not only as trading tools, but as a means of visual communication that would eventually evolve into a written language.
Seals as a tool to understand the ancient mind
The study not only examines the origin of written signs, but also provides a window into the way ancient Mesopotamians conceptualized the world. In many of the preliterate seals studied, there is a great attention to the details of daily life and valuable objects. The researchers found symbols depicting jars, textiles, and structures that possibly represented temples or warehouses. The repetition of these symbols in different contexts suggests that the inhabitants of this region already recognized these elements as icons of their commercial and religious activities.
One of the most intriguing examples is that of jars wrapped in nets, a motif that appears both in preliterate seals and in early proto-cuneiform texts. Researchers believe that this symbol could be related to the distribution of liquids, such as wine or oil, within Mesopotamian society. The iconography on these seals was so detailed that it could even differentiate between different types of goods or their storage and transportation methods, denoting a high level of organization and sophistication.
The debate over the origins of writing
Despite the promising findings of this study, some cuneiform specialists, such as anthropologist Gordon Whittaker, are skeptical about the direct connection between seals and writing. According to Whittaker, some symbols on seals may be too vague or general to claim that they were a direct stimulus for the invention of writing. However, researcher Holly Pittman, who proposed almost 30 years ago that symbols on seals influenced writing, is pleased with the results of the research, as it supports her theory.
This discussion is part of a broader debate about the transition from a society without writing to a literate society. Writing, according to some experts, did not emerge from nowhere, but from the need of an increasingly complex society to store information and formalize transactions. This transition from images to written symbols in a system that the first inhabitants of Uruk used to communicate complex and abstract ideas reflects a cognitive change of great historical relevance.
As proto-cuneiform developed, it became a central tool for administration and communication in Mesopotamia. Its use extended for more than 2,000 years, influencing civilizations such as the Babylonians and the Assyrians. The ability of cuneiform signs to represent not only objects, but also sounds and abstract concepts, allowed a cultural expansion that transcended the geographical and cultural boundaries of Mesopotamia. The influence of Mesopotamian writing can be traced in other writing systems, and even today we continue to unravel its legacy and its impact on humanity.
The research of Kelley, Cartolano and Ferrara not only expands our understanding of the origin of writing, but also highlights the complex interconnection between trade, technology and culture in early urban societies. Thanks to their discoveries, we are one step closer to understanding how early civilizations transformed symbols into a lasting communication system that would open the doors to the world of written history. (Text and Photo: Cubasí)
