New research has revealed historical human cognitive development can be assessed through writing from analysis.
Researchers have debated the exact point when writing is said to have began but over the years, new theories have formed.
Now, a team from the University of Bologna in Italy has linked symbols on ancient Mesopotamian seals with an archaic visual communication system called proto-cuneiform; an art form which would in time evolve into one of the world’s first true writing systems, reports Science Alert.
Symbols are thought to be among the first forms of communication, in Egypt, the famous hieroglyphics are one of the earliest forms of writing.
In each part of the world, early forms of writing differ with researchers continually learning more about these historic methods.
Philologist Silvia Ferrara, from the University of Bologna, said: “The close relationship between ancient sealing and the invention of writing in southwest Asia has long been recognised, but the relationship between specific seal images and sign shapes has hardly been explored.
“This was our starting question: did seal imagery contribute significantly to the invention of signs in the first writing in the region?”
Researchers have compared the designs they found on ancient cylinder seals with known proto-cuneiform signs. The selection of seals they analysed originated before writing emerged in ancient Mesopotamia.
Similarities in the way common artefacts were depicted on the cylinder seals share elements with their corresponding proto-cuneiform symbols.
Representations of people weaving on a cylinder seal from the Mesopotamian city of Susa bear a similar form, as do artefacts from the city of Uruk.
Ferrara said: “The conceptual leap from pre-writing symbolism to writing is a significant development in human cognitive technologies.
“The invention of writing marks the transition between prehistory and history, and the findings of this study bridge this divide by illustrating how some late prehistoric images were incorporated into one of the earliest invented writing systems.”
Proto-cuneiform is first seen in the archeological record as a means of accounting. It allowed people to track the production and trade of everyday items.
The research showed that the meaning originally associated with these designs was integrated into a writing system.
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