Chapter 01 · 4000 – 3100 BCE
Uruk Period
The birth of the city, the birth of writing.
~3000 BCE · Sb 15183 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 357
In plain English
This is an accounting record. Under a heading whose meaning is still unknown, it lists a series of entries — each pairing one or more commodity or category signs with a number: 2 of one thing, 3 of another, 2 more, then 1, then 2 in larger units, and so on down through at least ten line entries, ending with what may be a single large-unit total. The specific goods or activities being counted cannot yet be identified, because most of the signs on this tablet have not been deciphered. The numbers, however, are clear.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“M157 [heading/rubric] |M195+M057| |M305+X|? M264~a , 2 M263 , 3 M387 M376#? , 2 M263# , 1 M002 , 2 [large units] M305 M388 M066 M259 M218 M263~e , 1 M136~c# x M388 M152 M057~a2 M260 , 1 M036#? , 2 M260#? , 1 [+ possible fractional notations] [1 large unit?]”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15184 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 358
In plain English
A heading or document-type marker introduces this record. The first entry lists a complex commodity or category (rendered by several signs whose meanings remain unknown) with a total quantity: 1 large unit, 2 medium-large units, 8 medium units, and 1 small unit. A second entry, under a different category marker, records 1 large unit, 1 medium unit, 2 fractional units, and 1 smaller fraction. A third line carries a paired sign of unknown function. A final tally section records 2 large units and further fractional amounts, closing with 2 small units. The exact goods or commodities involved cannot be identified, as the sign system has not yet been fully deciphered.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[Heading/rubric: M157] [Compound sign M195+M057] [M388] [M390] [M219] [M218] [M288]: 1(N34) 2(N45) 8(N14) 1(N01) [Compound sign M106+M288] [M288]: 1(N34) 1(N14) 2(N39B) 1(N24) [Compound sign M175+M175] [M288]: 2(N34) 2(N45) [9(N14)?] 1(N01) 2(N39B) 1(N24) 2(N01)”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 06393 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 360
In plain English
This tablet is an administrative tally. A heading sign at the top marks the document's category or subject (its meaning is not yet known). Below it, each line records a different item or group — identified by signs we cannot yet read — alongside a count: 7 of one thing, 3 of another, 2 of several more, with one line recording 2 units of a larger measure. The tablet closes with a grand total at the bottom. The rest of the signs' meanings are lost to us for now, as proto-Elamite writing remains undeciphered.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[Heading/rubric:] M157 [Line 1:] M038~a, M029~a, M149~a, M388, M387 — 7(N01) [Line 2:] M038~e, M387 — 3(N01) [Line 3:] M500, M145, M387 — 2(N01) [Line 4:] M046~a, M387 — 2(N01) [Line 5:] M136~c, M029~b, M387 — 2(N14) [Line 6:] |M157+M131|, M374~c — 1(N01) [Line 7:] M374~c — 2(N01) [Line 8:] M387 — 4(N01) [Line 9:] M149~a — 5(N01) [Total:] 1(N34)”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15188 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 364
In plain English
This tablet records a series of entries, each combining one or more category or commodity signs with numerical quantities. The first entry lists several signs together and counts 1 unit. The second entry records 4 larger units and 3 smaller units of something under the same category marker. The third entry, under a different heading, totals 5 larger units and 3 smaller units. A fourth entry is too damaged to read fully, but records 2 of a large unit and 1 of another. The fifth entry lists three signs together and counts 2 larger and 4 smaller units. The sixth entry records 2 large units before breaking off. The specific commodities and categories cannot be identified with current knowledge of this script.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“Line 1: [M288~a] [M388] [M124] [M057~a4] [M240~e] [M295~c] [M281~e] — 1 (unit N01) Line 2: [M288~a] — 4 (N14) [...] 3 (N01) Line 3: [M025] [M256~c] [M057~a] [M288~a] — 5 (N14) 3 (N01) Line 4: [...] x [M288] — 2 (N34)? 1 (N45) [...] Line 5: [...] [M223] [M224] [M218] [M288] — 2 (N14) 4 (N01) Line 6: [M288~a] — 2 (N34) [...]”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15190 + Sb 15334 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 366 + MDP 26S, 5025
In plain English
The tablet opens with a heading or category label whose meaning we cannot yet read. It then lists several distinct types of goods or commodities — each identified by a sign whose referent is still unknown to scholars — alongside quantities expressed in the Proto-Elamite number system: larger units (solid circles), medium counts (crescents), and smaller fractions. One entry is too damaged to read fully. The final line records what appears to be a total of five units. The rest is silence: the language behind these signs has never been deciphered.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[Rubric/header: M157~a] [Compound heading: M249~n M195~d M388 |M297+M296| M338~b M066# M206~j] , 6(N01) [M145~o variant] , 1 large unit + 2 medium units + 1 small unit [M145~n variant] , 1 large unit + 1 medium unit + 1 small unit [M032] , 1 large unit [M039~g] , 3 large units [M039~d] , 1 large unit + 2 medium units + 1 small unit [M004~b] , 3 large units [x ...] , [...] 2 medium units + 1 small unit [M323~1] , 5 large counted units [total?]”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15191 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 367
In plain English
This tablet records a series of allocations or quantities, organized under a heading sign whose meaning is unknown. Several categories of goods — each identified by an undeciphered sign — are listed with their amounts: roughly 11 units of one item, 5 of another, a small fractional amount of a third, and so on, including a larger entry of about 15 units and a substantial tally of around 32 units near the end. The reverse side bears only a seal impression and a few marks. Because proto-Elamite script has not been deciphered, we can read the numbers clearly but cannot yet say what commodities or institutions these entries refer to.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“[Heading/rubric: M157] M247~g M124 M374~c M124 : 1(N14) 1(N01) [= ~11 units] M124 : 5(N01) [= 5 units] M376 : 2(N01) 1(N08A) [= ~2+ units] M207~ma : [...] M376 : 1(N14) 5(N01) [= ~15 units] M124 : 1(N08A) [= fractional unit] M124 : 4(N01) [= 4 units] [...] : 3(N14) 2(N01) [= ~32 units] M149~a : 4(N01) [= 4 units]”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15193 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 369
In plain English
This tablet records a series of short inventory entries, each pairing an unreadable category label with a number. The heading sign at the top probably identifies the document type or institution. Then come individual lines: one unit of [unknown commodity], one unit of [unknown sign], another entry too broken to read, one large unit of something, one unit of a different category marker, one more unit, four units of a further category, and a final broken line recording two units plus additional fractional amounts. The commodity names cannot yet be read; only the numbers survive as meaningful.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“M157 [heading/rubric], |M157+M288| M038~a M001~b M264~b [category marker], 1 (unit) M263~b1 [sign], 1 (unit) M263~b1 [...], [...] [...], 1 (large unit) M038~e M001~b M264~a [category marker], 1 (unit) M263~b1 [sign], 1 (unit) M002 |M036+1(N24)| [sign], 4 (units) [...], [...] 2 (units) 1(N39B) 1(N24)”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry~3000 BCE · Sb 15194 — Louvre Museum, Paris, France
MDP 06, 370
In plain English
This tablet lists a series of commodity categories, each followed by a quantity. The first line carries what appears to be a heading or document-type marker. Then come entries: one category receives 2 units; another, a very large quantity; a damaged line records 4 large units; a further entry runs to an even larger total with multiple sub-denominations; and so on through about a dozen entries before the tablet breaks off. The precise goods being counted are not yet deciphered — the numbers are clear, the commodity names are not. The lower portion of the tablet is blank or too eroded to read.
AI-generated reading paraphrase; compare with the translation below.
“M157 [rubric/heading sign] M391, 2 M038~i M288, 1(N45) 1(N14) 5(N01) 1(N24) [large numerical total] [...], 4(N14) [x] M288, 9(N34) 1(N45) 2(N01) 2(N39B) [large numerical total] [...], 1(N24) M205 M149~a1 M069~ab M288, 3 M136~c M288, 5(N14) [large numerical total] M139 M388 M218 M318, 1(N24) M325~e, 1 3(N39B) 1(N24) 1(N30C) 1(N30D) [...], 3(N14) [x] M103 M295~e [x], [...]”
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware) · claude-sonnet-4-6 · low confidence
Read the full tablet entry