Position in chronology
MDP 17, 193
About this tablet
A fragmentary proto-Elamite accounting tablet from Susa, ancient southwestern Iran, dating to roughly 3100–2900 BCE — among the earliest writing systems in the world. The surviving lines record quantities of unidentified commodities, each paired with numerical notations in the proto-Elamite sexagesimal system. The sign M317 appears to function as a category or summary marker, while M054, M003~b, and M373 each head their own entry with associated counts. Proto-Elamite remains undeciphered, so the commodities tracked — possibly livestock, grain, or craft goods — cannot be named with certainty. This tablet is part of the enormous bureaucratic archive that emerged at Susa contemporaneously with Uruk-period record-keeping in Mesopotamia.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This tablet is a ledger — a list of entries, each noting a category of goods and a number. One entry records 1×N14 plus 2×N01 units under category M317; another records 1×N14 plus 5×N01 units under an unknown heading; M003~b accounts for 3 units; M054 appears twice, once with 2×N14 units; M373 is credited 2 units; and a final damaged entry records 8 units. Because proto-Elamite is still undeciphered, we cannot say what goods these were — only that someone was carefully counting them.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine[...] M317, 1(N14) 2(N01) [x x] , [...] M054 , [...] [...] , 1(N14) 5(N01) M003~b , 3(N01) M054 , 2(N14) [...] [...] M066~a(?) M317 , 1(N14) 2(N01) M373 , 2(N01) [...] [x?] , 8(N01)
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Transliteration
[...] M317# , 1(N14) 2(N01)# x x , [...] M054# , [...] [...] , 1(N14) 5(N01) M003~b , 3(N01) M054 , 2(N14) [...] [...] M066~a#? M317 , 1(N14) 2(N01)# M373# , 2(N01)# [...] x? , 8(N01)#
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 17, 193. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P008391) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-28/v6-glossary-aware).
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One of the earliest specimens of human writing. Not literature, not law — accounting. The need to keep track of grain in a temple bureaucracy is what pushed marks-on-clay into a system that could one day carry epics.
Marks the boundary between proto-writing and writing. We can see signs being used systematically — but not yet phonetically. The leap to recording speech itself comes a few centuries later.
The earliest historical document in human history. Before this, we have lists, accounts, and dedications. Here, for the first time, a ruler tells us what happened — with names, places, and consequences.