4000 – 3100 BCE
Uruk Period
The birth of the city, the birth of writing.
In the marshlands of southern Iraq, the world's first true cities rise. Uruk, the largest, may have held forty thousand souls. Around 3300 BCE, in its temple administration, accountants invent something new: marks pressed into clay to count things. Writing is born — not as poetry, but as bookkeeping.
Primary sources
Tablets from this period
1783 tablets dated to Uruk Period — showing 24 below; browse all 1783.
Kish Tablet
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.
Writing & LiteratureATU 5, pl. 013, W 6710,a
13 ZATU678, male workers (ERIM~a) 10 ZATU678, ZATU765 5 ZATU718(?) 5 women (SAL) 5 PAP~a [elders/supervisors?] 10 copper (URUDU~a?) [Total:] 4(N14) 8(N01) [= 48]
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 071, W 9579,cc
2 cows — [of type] NUN~a, ZATU639, LAM~b — herald(?) / official(?), ox 1 cow — [of type] X, [disbursed?] [...] 1 cow — [of type] SZE~b — Uruk 4 cows — [type] GU4, ZATU639 — Uruk
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 077, W 9579,dv
2(N34) 2(N01) , NUN~b 1(N34) 2(N14) , [small cattle — female goat] 4(N14) [9(N01)] [...] , [...] [male castrated sheep] 4(N14) 1(N01) , NIR~b UKKIN~a UTUA~b 7(N34) 3(N14) 8(N01) , [sheep/small cattle] — disbursed
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 089, W 9656,ab
1(N01)[?] , [large capacity unit].BAD~a 1(N01) , [sign ZATU689] [...] , ZAG~b[?] [...] 1(N01) , [sign ZATU693] UKKIN~a 1(N01) , AK~a 1(N01)[?] [...] , [...] [...] 9(N01)[?] , [...] fish NUN~b
Economy
ATU 7, pl. 018, W 19416,a
20 [units], MA, ZATU735~b 20 [units], GU, fine wool(?), apple/orchard-fruit 2 [units], DIN, [vessel with sign |GAN~c×LAGAB~b|] 2 [units], [vessel with sign |GAN~c×X|] 10# [units], GAN~b [...], GI, |SAR~a׊E~a|, DA~a [...], DIN 7# [units], MA 2 [units] (higher order), apple/orchard-fruit 20 [units], MA#, ZATU735~b [...], |SAR~a׊E~a|#, A#, [...]
Economy
MS 3009
20 [units], DIN-plant/herb 34 [units], ZATU842-commodity, EN (lord/high-official) 20 [units], UNUG (Uruk) [blank / total line?] 20 [units], SAG (head/chief?), IB 32 [units], ERIN (workers/troops) 30 [units], NUNUZ (eggs/seed?) 2(N34) 36 [units], KISZ, GAL (great), SANGA (administrator/priest), EN (lord/high-official) [...]
Economy
MS 3010
1 [unit] — woman (SAL) 6 [units] — stomach/interior (ŠA3) 2 [units] — [type of] bread/food ration (|NINDA2×X|) 1 [unit] — mountain / [commodity with] |U4×1(N57)| (KUR |U4×1(N57)|) 9 [units] — [damaged; commodity/sign uncertain] (X X) 1 [unit] — [released/processed commodity?] (|DU8×HI|?) 1 N14 [large unit] — [institution or household?] KIŠ HI E2 NUN GIR A
Economy
MS 3160
5 units — PAP~a, UZ 1 large unit — SI, NAGA, [house/institution?] 4 units — SZUBUR 3 units — EZEM~c (festival?) 7 units — PA~a 40 + 2 units — BARA2~a (dais/throne-platform) 60 units — barley (ŠE), disbursement, ERIN (workers/troops)
Economy
MS 3171
5 sheep, processed/fashioned [type] 5 [animals/units], HAL, male 5 [units], SZUR2~c [damaged sign] 4 [units], [sign uncertain] 3 (large measure N14), [compound sign: LAGAB enclosing HI+N04] 4 [units], [sign ZATU753] 6 [units], goats (MASZ2) 3 [units], BIR-quality cows 4 [units], [compound sign GA2-type vessel/container] 5 [units], PA~a [sign uncertain: ZATU659?] 3 [units], DA~a [number lost], SZUR2~c [number lost], settlement/city (URU~a1) — 8 [large units N57]
Economy
MS 4485
1 [unit]: large vessel (GAL~a), delivery/receipt (SZU2), 3 [units N57] 1 [unit]: ear (GESZTU~b), aromatic/resin (SZIM~a), hand/delivery (SZU) 1 [unit]: [commodity SI4~a] 1 [unit]: field? (GAN2?), [compound sign |UR3~b1xMASZ|] 1 [unit]: thorn/horn (SI), grinder/container (UR3~b1) 1 [unit]: [sign ZATU844], calf/young animal (AMAR) [X units]: [broken — signs illegible] [...]
Economy
AoF 30, 238,1
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — AoF 30, 238,1. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 003, W 6108
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 003, W 6108. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 010, W 6611
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 010, W 6611. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,a
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,a. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 014, W 6738,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 015, W 6748,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 015, W 6748,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 035, W 9123,b
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 035, W 9123,b. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 037, W 9123,w
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 037, W 9123,w. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 038, W 9123,ac
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 038, W 9123,ac. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,c
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,c. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,e
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,e. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,g
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 046, W 9206,g. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy
ATU 5, pl. 051, W 9312,f
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Uruk IV (ca. 3350-3200 BC)) — ATU 5, pl. 051, W 9312,f. No scholarly translation has been published; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Economy