Sumerian Cylinder Seals: Pocket-Sized Tools for Securing Ancient Records
Sumerian cylinder seals combined image, identity and security. Their impressions closed containers, marked records and carried a person’s authority across ancient Mesopotamia.
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Cuneiform
Por-Bazhyn: A Siberian Island Complex Dated to 777
A larch beam from Por-Bazhyn preserves a radiocarbon marker that dates the start of construction to summer 777. The island complex was built under the Uyghur Khaganate, but its intended use remains uncertain.
What Counts as Writing—and Why the “First” Script Is Hard to Name
What counts as writing? Compare Uruk tablets, Egyptian signs and Jiahu marks—and see why the earliest script is hard to name.
Scientists Read 4,000-Year-Old Letters Without Opening Their Clay Envelopes
Researchers are using high-definition X-ray CT and virtual unwrapping to read cuneiform letters that remain sealed inside their ancient clay envelopes.