Position in chronology
MDP 17, 029
About this tablet
A proto-Elamite or proto-cuneiform numerical tablet from Susa (modern Shush, Iran), dating to the Uruk period, roughly 3300–3000 BCE — among the very earliest writing in human history. The tablet records quantities of goods using a numerical notation system that preceded true writing: different sign shapes (N14, N45, N01, etc.) represent different units in a capacity or counting system whose commodity is no longer legible due to damage. Tablets like this were the bookkeeping tools of early urban administrators tracking the flow of grain, animals, or other staples. The fact that numbers can be recorded at all — even without full writing — marks a revolutionary moment in the organization of human economic life.
Plain-language summary by the engine — meant as a doorway into the literal translation below.
Written in modern English
The tablet records several entries of quantities, though the commodity labels are broken away or lost. One entry totals 1(N14) unit with 1(N45), 7(N01), 1(N24), 1(N30C), and 1(N30D) sub-units combined; another records 8(N14) units with 3(N01), 3(N39B), and 1(N24). The top two lines are partially destroyed and their leading signs are missing. What survives is purely numerical — a tally of amounts in a hierarchical counting system whose commodity we can no longer identify.
A modern paraphrase of the literal translation — same content, contemporary voice.
Translation — our engine
Our engine[...], 2(N34) 1(N45) [...], 2(N39B) 1(N24) 2(N30C) 1(N14), 1(N45) 7(N01) 1(N24) 1(N30C) 1(N30D) [x], 8(N14) 3(N01) 3(N39B) 1(N24)
Our translation engine — Sonnet 4.6. Reads the photo, translates the cuneiform, and writes a plain-language interpretation. See methodology for limits.
Spotted an error? Suggest a correction — confirmed corrections feed the engine's knowledge base.
Transliteration
[...] , 2(N34)# 1(N45) [...] , 2(N39B) 1(N24) 2(N30C) 1(N14) , 1(N45) 7(N01)# 1(N24) 1(N30C) 1(N30D) x , 8(N14) 3(N01) 3(N39B) 1(N24)
Scholarly note
Catalogue entry from CDLI (Proto-Elamite (ca. 3100-2900 BC)) — MDP 17, 029. This record has no stored scholarly English translation; the existence of published translations has not been checked; the transliteration is from the ATF (CDLI's Atf-Friendly format).
Attribution
Image: Louvre Museum, Paris, France (P008227) — 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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Related sources
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