Clay Tablet
3300 BC - 3100 BC
Clay
Original Site Unknown
5.5 cm x 5.2 cm x 1.8 cm
A2514
Clay
Original Site Unknown
5.5 cm x 5.2 cm x 1.8 cm
A2514
Oriental Institute Museum
Clay Tablet
The ancient Mesopotamians invented writing. Clay tablets such as this one are among the earliest known written records. Most of the texts, written in cuneiform, deal with administrative procedures.
Multimedia
Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
What was life like in ancient Mesopotamia? Find out in this video featuring Oriental Institute Assyriologist Dr. Martha Roth.
An Early Clay Tablet
See how this early clay tablet used pictures to communicate.
Suggested Readings
Claiborne, Robert. The Birth of Writing. The Emergence of Man series. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1974.
Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
Walker, C.B.F. Cuneiform: Reading the Past. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.