Position in chronology
MDP 17, 446
About this tablet
This is a proto-cuneiform administrative tablet from Susa (in modern Iran), dating to the Late Uruk period, roughly 3200–3000 BCE — among the very earliest writing in human history. It records quantities of commodities or rations under a series of sign-groups that are not yet fully deciphered, with numerical tallies of 1 and 2 units entered in the right-hand column. Tablets like this one are the bureaucratic foundation of the world's first cities: record-keepers pressing signs into wet clay to track goods moving in and out of a central institution. Because proto-cuneiform signs at Susa have not been fully mapped onto a spoken language, the specific commodities listed here cannot be read aloud — we can count, but we cannot yet fully name what was being counted.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Translation · reference
Low confidence[Sign M325~d], [Sign M388] × [Sign M057~b], [Sign M387], [Sign M218] — 2 [...] [Sign M388?], [Sign M347], [Sign M371] — 1 [Sign M066?] × [Sign M218] — 1 [x] [x] — [...] [Sign M242~n], [Sign M386~a], [Sign M240~e?], [Sign M096] — 1 [...] — 2 [Sign M291], [Sign M371]
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-12/v4-interpretation)
Translation · AI engine
read from photo[Sign M325~d], [Sign M388] × [Sign M057~b], [Sign M387], [Sign M218] — 2 [...] [Sign M388?], [Sign M347], [Sign M371] — 1 [Sign M066?] × [Sign M218] — 1 [x] [x] — [...] [Sign M242~n], [Sign M386~a], [Sign M240~e?], [Sign M096] — 1 [...] — 2 [Sign M291], [Sign M371]
5 uncertain terms ↓
- M325~d — Proto-cuneiform sign, function unknown; the '~d' allograph designation indicates a variant form. Cannot verify from photo.
- M388 x M057~b — A compound or ligature sign. The '×' notation means M057~b is inscribed inside M388. Meaning unknown; may designate a commodity category.
- M387, M347, M371, M066, M242~n, M386~a, M240~e, M096, M291 — All are proto-cuneiform sign identifiers from the MDP/CDLI sign list for Susa-period tablets. Their lexical or administrative meanings are largely undeciphered; they may denote commodities, institutions, or personnel categories.
- M218 — Glossary identifies this as a possible subtotal or section-divider sign; the precise function is inferred from parallels, not independently confirmed for this tablet.
- N01 — The basic unit-impression numeral in proto-cuneiform counting. What commodity or measure it quantifies here is not determinable from surviving signs.
Reasoning ↓
The photograph shows a heavily fragmented tablet reassembled from several pieces (museum number Sb 22590, visible on adhesive labels in the lower portion of the image). The obverse surface, visible in the upper composite group, preserves impressed cuneiform wedges in multiple rows divided by a clear vertical ruling line, consistent with a tabular proto-cuneiform administrative format. Individual signs are difficult to resolve at this resolution — surface erosion, cracking across the clay, and the pieced-together condition all reduce legibility. The tallying marks (the round N01 impressions) are the most readily identifiable features: I can make out clusters of one or two round impressions to the right of sign-groups in several rows, consistent with the transliteration's 1(N01) and 2(N01) values. The reverse (lower fragment group) appears largely blank or too abraded to read, which is normal for tablets of this type. The transliteration is provided by project scholars using the MDP 17 corpus conventions; I cannot independently verify the specific M-number sign identifications from the photo alone, as the resolution does not permit sign-by-sign confirmation. No standard anglicised personal or royal names are present — this predates named royal authorship in the epigraphic record at Susa. The sign readings are treated as experimental because proto-cuneiform from Susa (proto-Elamite interface zone) remains only partially deciphered and the photo confirms damage but not individual sign forms.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 1651 in / 1027 out tokens
Why it matters
Transliteration
M325~d , M388 x M057~b M387 M218 , 2(N01)# [...] M388#? M347 M371 , 1(N01) M066# x M218 , 1(N01) x x , [...] M242~n# M386~a M240~e#? M096 , 1(N01)# [...] , 2(N01)# M291 M371
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 17, 446. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P008644) — Photo via Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative. source
Translation excerpted from engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-12/v4-interpretation).
Related tablets
Related sources
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.