Proto-Elamite (period)

The Proto-Elamite period, also known as Susa III, is a chronological era in the ancient history of the area of Elam, dating from c. 3100 BC to 2700 BC.^[1]^[3] In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period. Proto-Elamite sites are recognized as the oldest civilization in Iran. The Proto-Elamite script is an Early Bronze Age writing system briefly in use before the introduction of Elamite cuneiform.

History

Background

Proto-Elamite (period) is located in Continental Asia

INDUS
VALLEY
CIVILIZATION

Ancient
Northeast Asians

Hongshan

The Proto-Elamite culture, with contemporary polities c. 3000 BC

During the period 8000–3700 BC, the Fertile Crescent witnessed the spread of small settlements supported by agricultural surplus. Geometric tokens emerged to be used to manage stewardship of this surplus. The earliest tokens now known are those from two sites in the Zagros region of Iran: Tepe Asiab and Ganj-i-Dareh Tepe.

The Mesopotamian civilization emerged during the period 3700–2900 BC amid the development of technological innovations such as the plough, sailing boats, and copper metal working. Clay tablets with pictographic characters appeared in this period to record commercial transactions performed by the temples.

Proto-Elamite sites

The most important Proto-Elamite sites are Susa and Anshan. Another important site is Tepe Sialk, where the only remaining Proto-Elamite ziggurat is still seen. Texts in the undeciphered Proto-Elamite script found in Susa are dated to this period as well as at Tepe Sofalin and Tepe Yahya. It was originally assumed that the Proto-Elamites were in fact Elamites (Elamite speakers), because of cultural similarities (for example, the building of ziggurats), and because no large-scale migration to this area seems to have occurred between the Proto-Elamite period and the later Elamites. As Proto-Elamite writing has now been found over a wider area that is less certain.

Proto-Elamite pottery dating back to the last half of the 5th millennium BC has been found in Tepe Sialk, where Proto-Elamite writing, the first form of writing in Iran, has been found on tablets of this date. The first cylinder seals come from the Proto-Elamite period, as well.^[4]

Striding figure, Proto-Elamite or Mesopotamian (3000–2800 BC).^[5]
Kneeling Bull with Vessel. Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, Proto-Elamite period (3100–2900 BC). Metropolitan Museum of Art^[6]
The Proto-Elamite Guennol Lioness, c. 3000–2800 BC, 3.5 inches high
Chlorite vessel with mythological scenes, Early Dynastic III, 2600–2300 BCE; found in Ur but probably made in Iran

Proto-Elamite cylinder seals

Proto-Elamite seals follow the seals of the Uruk period, with which they share many stylistic elements, but display more individuality and a more lively rendering.^[7]

Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal, 3150–2800 BC. Louvre Museum, reference Sb 1484
Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150–2800 BC Louvre Museum Sb 2675
Susa III/ Proto-Elamite cylinder seal 3150–2800 BC Mythological being on a boat Louvre Museum Sb 6379
Proto-Elamite seal impression: combat between man-bull and animals

References

^ ^a ^b Louvre, Musée du (1992). The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870996511.
^ "Site officiel du musée du Louvre". cartelfr.louvre.fr.
^ Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.
^ "The Habib Anavian Collection: Iranian Art from the 5th Millennium B.C. to the 7th Century A.D." website of the Anavian Gallery, New York. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
^ "Statuette of a Striding Figure". The Art Institute of Chicago.
^ "Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, ca. 3100–2900 B.C. Proto-Elamite". www.metmuseum.org.
^ The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1992. p. 70. ISBN 9780870996511.

External links

Proto-Elamite tablets online at CDLI
Art of the Bronze Age: Southeastern Iran, Western Central Asia, and the Indus Valley, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Proto-Elamite culture

[Louvre1992-1] Louvre, Musée du (1992). The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 9780870996511.

[2] "Site officiel du musée du Louvre". cartelfr.louvre.fr.

[3] Álvarez-Mon, Javier (2020). The Art of Elam CA. 4200–525 BC. Routledge. p. 120. ISBN 978-1-000-03485-1.

[4] "The Habib Anavian Collection: Iranian Art from the 5th Millennium B.C. to the 7th Century A.D." website of the Anavian Gallery, New York. Retrieved 22 October 2012.

[5] "Statuette of a Striding Figure". The Art Institute of Chicago.

[6] "Kneeling bull holding a spouted vessel, ca. 3100–2900 B.C. Proto-Elamite". www.metmuseum.org.

[MMA-7] The Royal City of Susa: Ancient Near Eastern Treasures in the Louvre. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1992. p. 70. ISBN 9780870996511.

[8] Rulers with names in italics are considered fictional.

[9] Hallo, W.; Simpson, W. (1971). The Ancient Near East. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich. pp. 48–49.

[10] "Rulers of Mesopotamia". cdli.ox.ac.uk. University of Oxford, CNRS.

[11] Thomas, Ariane; Potts, Timothy (2020). Mesopotamia: Civilization Begins. Getty Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-60606-649-2.

[12] Roux, Georges (1992). Ancient Iraq. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 532–534 (Chronological Tables). ISBN 978-0-14-193825-7.

[SKL-13] Per Sumerian King List

[14] Unger, Merrill F. (2014). Israel and the Aramaeans of Damascus: A Study in Archaeological Illumination of Bible History. Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-62564-606-4.

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