Article

Proto-Elamite and linear Elamite, a misunderstood relationship?

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Abstract

In this study I address the previously abandoned, but recently resurrected assumption that the proto-Elamite writing system did not disappear but was continuously in use in Iran until the late 3rd millennium BC when the so-called linear Elamite texts were written in, supposedly, a developed version of proto-Elamite. I suggest, as a simple explanation for the similarity of some signs between these two systems, separated by more than 500 years, that late 3rd millennium scribes created a new script, as an act of schismogenesis, using recovered proto-Elamite tablets as part of their inspiration, as well as their extensive knowledge of Old Akkadian cuneiform.

How to Cite:

Dahl, J., (2023) “Proto-Elamite and linear Elamite, a misunderstood relationship?”, Akkadica 144(2), 107–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.21825/akkadica.99694

Rights: © The author