Share The origins of writing in ancient Mesopotamia and beyond may rest on a group of cylindrical seals. A team of archeologists from the University of Bologna in Italy has identified a series of correlations between the designs engraved on some roughly 6,000-year-old cylinders and other signs of the proto-cuneiform script that emerged in present day Iraq. The findings are detailed in a study published November 5 in the journal Antiquity. Making the jump from using symbols to writing is considered a major development in human cognitive abilities. Tracing how…
