Cuneiform tablet: administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars, Jemdet Nasr, ca 3100–2900 BC, Mesopotamia, probably from Uruk (modern Warka), Sumerian, Clay, 217 x 236 x 163 in (55

Cuneiform tablet: administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars, Jemdet Nasr, ca 3100–2900 BC, Mesopotamia, probably from Uruk (modern Warka), Sumerian, Clay, 217 x 236 x 163 in (55 x 6 x 415 cm), Clay-Tablets-Inscribed-Seal Impressions, Of the many legacies left by the ancient civilizations of southern Mesopotamia, the invention of writing is paramount At the end of the fourth millennium BC, written language developed in the region, first as pictographs and then evolving into abstract forms called cuneiform. (Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)