Position in chronology
MDP 31, 037
About this tablet
A Proto-Elamite administrative tablet from ancient Susa (in modern southwestern Iran), dating to the late fourth millennium BCE — roughly contemporary with the earliest Sumerian writing at Uruk. It records a list of commodity entries, each followed by a numerical value of 1 unit, with a possible total of 9 at the bottom. Proto-Elamite remains undeciphered: the sign values cannot be read phonetically, but the accounting structure — categories, quantities, and a summation line — is clearly recognizable as an institutional record. This tablet illustrates the parallel development of writing as an economic tool across the ancient Near East, at Susa just as at Uruk.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
This is an account list. Each line records what appears to be a distinct category of commodity or transaction, each assigned a quantity of 1, with a final line that may tally the entries at 9. The heading signs at the top likely identify the document type or institutional context. Because Proto-Elamite writing remains undeciphered, the specific commodities and the names of any people involved cannot be read — we can see the accounting skeleton clearly, but the flesh of meaning is still locked away.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine[Heading/rubric sign] [compound sign: M377~e+M320+M377~e] [M157] [M388] [M218] [M329~b] [M388] [M066] [M136] [M259?] [M388] [M218] [M314] [M297] [M206~d] , 1(N01) [M352~o] [M338~b] [M066] , 1(N01) [M365~g] [M218] , 1(N01) [M263] [M318] [M371] , 1(N01) [M001?] [M066?] [M217~j] [M352~o] [M218~b] [M388] [M338~b] [M009] [M371] , 2(N01) [M377~e] [M347] [M371?] [M388] [M377~e] [M040] [M372] [M365~g] [x] , 1(N01) [M325~d] [M388] [M218] [M220] [M218+M288?] [M066] , 1(N01) [x] [M295~e?] [M218] , 1(N01) [...] , 9(N01)?
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Transliteration
|M377~e+M320+M377~e|# , M157 M388 M218 M329~b M388 M066 M136# M259? M388 M218 M314 M297 M206~d , 1(N01) M352~o! M338~b M066 , 1(N01) M365~g M218 , 1(N01) M263 M318# M371 , 1(N01) M001#? M066#? M217~j M352~o M218~b M388 M338~b M009# M371 , 2(N01)# M377~e# M347 M371#? M388 M377~e M040 M372 M365~g x , 1(N01) M325~d M388 M218 M220 |M218+M288|? M066 , 1(N01)#? x M295~e? M218 , 1(N01)# [...] , 9(N01)?
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 31, 037. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P009376) — 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.