For centuries, scholars have puzzled over the origins of the worlds first writing system.
Cuneiform evolved from proto-cuneiform, a precursor script composed of simple symbolic pictographs that gradually incorporatedsyllabic elements.
Researchers have long suspected that proto-cuneiform itself developed from ancient accounting methods.
Example of a cylinder seal and its design imprinted onto clayImage: Frank Raux, Musée du Louvre
Among other things, cylinder seals and proto-cuneiform tablets were ancient accounting tools.
Did seal imagery contribute significantly to the invention of signs in the first writing in the region?
Correction: An earlier version of this article mistakenly noted that script first emerged in Macedonia.
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