Researchers have uncovered links between the precursor to the world’s oldest writing system and the mysterious, intricate designs left behind by engraved cylindrical seals that were rolled across clay ...

We learn about orthographies, the different components that make up a writing system. All societies have spoken or signed language, but not all languages have a written form. Since writing developed ...

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While historians know roughly where and when humans first began writing, they have many unanswered questions about how and why the practice arose. Now, a new paper suggests that one of the world’s ...

Over the past century, archaeologists have uncovered more than 1,600 Proto-Elamite inscriptions, but only about 43 in Linear Elamite, scattered widely across Iran. Illustration by Meilan Solly / ...

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