Position in chronology
MDP 26S, 4765
About this tablet
This is one of the earliest administrative records in human history — a proto-cuneiform accounting tablet from Susa (in modern southwest Iran), dating to the Uruk period, roughly 3300–3000 BCE, before writing had yet developed into a fully readable language. It records quantities of commodities or rations — the exact goods are expressed in pictographic signs whose full reading remains uncertain — tallied under a series of numerical entries using the complex metrological systems typical of this era. The tablet is broken into several joining and non-joining fragments (visible in the photograph), and survives only partially, but the structured layout of sign-groups paired with impressed numerals is unmistakably that of a bureaucratic accounting exercise. It is a remarkable witness to the very moment when human beings first began using clay and a stylus to manage the economics of a complex urban society.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Translation · reference
Low confidence[...] [M482?], 3(N14) [M103] [M277~g] |M136+M365| [...], [...] [...] M388 |M036+1(N30D)|, 2(N14@b) M482, 1(N14) [M131~k] [M136~g] [...], [...] [...], [...] n(N@b) [M482?], 1(N14) M302~b |M136+M365| |M036+1(N30D)|, 1(N14@b) M388 [...], [...] |M036+1(N30D)|, 1(N34@b) 3(N14@b) 1(N01@b) [damaged] [M482?], 1(N34) M297~b, 2(N39B) 1(N24)
Source: engine:claude-sonnet-4-6 (2026-05-12/v4-interpretation)
Translation · AI engine
read from photo[...] [M482?], 3(N14) [M103] [M277~g] |M136+M365| [...], [...] [...] M388 |M036+1(N30D)|, 2(N14@b) M482, 1(N14) [M131~k] [M136~g] [...], [...] [...], [...] n(N@b) [M482?], 1(N14) M302~b |M136+M365| |M036+1(N30D)|, 1(N14@b) M388 [...], [...] |M036+1(N30D)|, 1(N34@b) 3(N14@b) 1(N01@b) [damaged] [M482?], 1(N34) M297~b, 2(N39B) 1(N24)
10 uncertain terms ↓
- M482 — Proto-cuneiform sign of uncertain reading; possibly related to a category of commodity or personnel. Appears multiple times, possibly as a heading or category marker.
- M302~b — Variant of proto-cuneiform M302; exact referent unknown. May denote a specific product type or institutional unit.
- M297~b — Variant of M297; referent uncertain. Could relate to a commodity, place, or official category.
- M388 — Proto-cuneiform sign; meaning not established with certainty. Recurs in multiple lines, possibly a sub-category marker.
- M103, M277~g, M131~k, M136~g — Proto-cuneiform signs whose phonetic or logographic values are largely unknown at this early stage of writing; functional rather than linguistic readings are all that can be offered.
- |M036+1(N30D)| — A compound sign combining M036 with an impressed numeral N30D; compound sign identities in proto-cuneiform are often commodity-specific and debated.
- |M136+M365| — Compound sign; referent uncertain. Typical of the combinatory sign-formation attested in the Uruk/Jemdet Nasr corpus.
- N14@b, N34@b, N01@b — The '@b' notation indicates a specific graphic variant (possibly impressed at an angle or in a specific sub-system). Exact metrological values depend on commodity and counting system; cannot be resolved without fuller context.
- N39B — Elongated impressed numeral; possibly belonging to an area or capacity metrological sub-system. Exact value debated in the literature.
- N24 — Medium-order impressed numeral; position in hierarchy depends on which metrological system governs this entry.
Reasoning ↓
Visually, the photograph shows multiple fragments of a roughly triangular clay tablet, now held together with gaps; the upper group (obverse) displays deeply impressed circular and wedge-shaped marks consistent with proto-cuneiform signs and numerical notation of the Uruk period — circular impressed dots (likely N01, N14-class numerals) and incised pictographic signs are visible, including what appear to be M482-class and M302-class pictograms and the characteristic X-like or crossing-wedge signs. The lower fragment shows a different face (reverse or lower obverse) with larger ovoid impressed marks consistent with N34 or N39B-class high-order numerals, and further pictographic signs. The surface is eroded, cracked along two major fracture lines, and several areas are obscured by dirt or spalling; precise sign-by-sign verification from the photo alone is not possible at this resolution. The transliteration provided by the project broadly matches what is visible in terms of the density and layout of signs, the alternation between pictographic commodity signs and numerical impressions, and the presence of a possible totalling entry near the bottom — this is consistent with standard Uruk-period administrative tablet formats as known from Uruk, Jemdet Nasr, and Susa corpora. The sign identifications (M482, M302~b, M297~b, M388, M136, etc.) cannot be individually verified from the photograph at this resolution; confidence is therefore low. The metrological values of N14@b, N34@b, N39B, and N24 remain commodity-dependent and cannot be converted to absolute quantities without fuller context.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · prompt 2026-05-12/v4-interpretation · May 15, 2026 · 2228 in / 1323 out tokens
Why it matters
Transliteration
[...] , M482# , 3(N14) M103 M277~g |M136+M365| [...] , [...] [...] M388 |M036+1(N30D)| , 2(N14@b) M482 , 1(N14) M131~k M136~g [...] , [...] [...] , [...] n(n@b) M482# , 1(N14) M302~b |M136+M365| |M036+1(N30D)| , 1(N14@b) M388 [...] , [...] |M036+1(N30D)| , 1(N34@b) 3(N14@b) 1(N01@b)# [M482?] , 1(N34) M297~b , 2(N39B) 1(N24)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 26S, 4765. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P009203) — 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.