See further the article on proto-Elamite at the education pages of the CDLI project.

What is Proto-Elamite?

The first indigenous writing system from Iran is called proto-Elamite, it was long thought of as a precursor to a (hypothetical) indigenous Elamite writing system. Proto-Elamite, as well as Linear-Elamite, remains largely un-deciphered. At present it is idle speculation to postulate a relationship between the two writing systems.

A few of the proto-Elamite signs are obvious loans from the slightly older proto-cuneiform (proto-cuneiform is a name for the writing system of the Late Uruk tablets from Mesopotamia), or perhaps more correctly share a common origin. Whereas proto-cuneiform is written in visual hierarchies, proto-Elamite is written in an in-line style. Basically numerical signs follow the objects they count, some non-numerical signs are images of the objects they represent although the majority are entirely abstract.

Proto-Elamite was used during a brief period around 3000 BCE (presumably contemporary with Uruk III or Jemdat Nasr in Mesopotamia), whereas linear-Elamite is attested for an equally brief period sometime during the later half of the 3rd millennium BCE.

The proto-Elamite writing system was used over a very large geographical area, stretching from Susa in the west, to Tepe Yahya in the east, and perhaps beyond. However, not all finds can be verified. This is partly due to the fact that their exists no clear definition of proto-Elamite among non-specialists.

Proto-Elamite tablets have been found at the following sites (in order of number of tablets recovered):

• Susa (more than 1500 tablets)

• Malyan (more than 30 tablets)

• Tepe Yahya (27 tablets)

• Sialk (22 tablets)

• Ozbaki (one tablet)

• Shahr-i-Shokhta (one tablet)

None of the inscribed objects from Ghazir, Chogha Mish or Hissar can be verified as proto-Elamite, the tablets from Ghazir and Choga Mish are Uruk IV style or numerical tablets, whereas the Hissar object cannot be classified at present. The majority of the Sialk tablets are also not proto-Elamite strictly speaking, but belong to the period of close contact between Mesopotamia and Iran, presumably corresponding to Uruk V - IV.

The State of Decipherment of Proto-Elamite

Although proto-Elamite remains undeciphered, the content of many texts is known. This is possible because certain signs, and in particular a majority of the numerical signs, are direct loans from the neighboring Mesopotamian writing system, proto-cuneiform. In addition, a number of the proto-Elamite signs are actual images of the objects they represent. However, the majority of the proto-Elamite signs are entirely abstract, and their meaning can only be deciphered through careful graphotactical analysis.

Proto-Elamite Civilization

The proto-Elamite civilization is the conventional name given to the period when the proto-Elamite writing system was in use. In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period.

External links

• Jacob L. Dahl, "Complex Graphemes in Proto-Elamite," in Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (CDLJ) 2005:3. Download a PDF copy
• Peter Damerow, “The Origins of Writing as a Problem of Historical Epistemology,” in Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (CDLJ) 2006:1. Download a PDF copy
• Peter Damerow and Robert K. Englund, The Proto-Elamite Texts from Tepe Yahya (= The American School of Prehistoric Research Bulletin 39; Cambridge, MA, 1989).
• Robert H. Dyson, “Early Work on the Acropolis at Susa. The Beginning of Prehistory in Iraq and Iran,” Expedition 10/4 (1968) 21-34.
• Robert K. Englund, “The State of Decipherment of Proto-Elamite,” in: Stephen Houston, ed. The First Writing: Script Invention as 
History and Process (2004). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, pp. 100-149. Download a PDF copy
• A. Le Brun, “Recherches stratigraphiques a l’acropole de Suse, 1969-1971,” in Cahiers de la Délégation archaéologique Française en Iran 1 (= CahDAFI 1; Paris, 1971) 163 – 216.
• Piero Meriggi, La scritura proto-elamica. Parte Ia: La scritura e il contenuto dei testi (Rome, 1971).
• Piero Meriggi, La scritura proto-elamica. Parte IIa: Catalogo dei segni (Rome, 1974).
• Piero Meriggi, La scritura proto-elamica. Parte IIIa: Testi (Rome, 1974).
• Daniel T. Potts, The Archaeology of Elam (Cambridge, UK, 1999).

External sources

• Webarchive backup: Encyclopedia Britannica's article on Proto-Elamites

See also

• Roman Ghirshman

Ancient history | Archaeological cultures | History of Iran | Prehistory