The oldest Elamite script, known as Proto-Elamite, first appeared in about 3100 BC in Susa, the capital of Elam, an empire in southwestern Persia. The Proto-Elamite script is thought to have been developed from an early Sumerian script.
The Proto-Elamite script consists of about 1,000 signs and is therefore thought to be partly logographic. It has yet to be deciphered, and the language it represents is unknown.
Old Elamite was a syllabic script derived from Proto-Elamite and was used between about 2250 and 2220 BC, though was probably invented are an earlier date. Old Elamite has only been partially deciphered, mainly by Walter Hinz.
Old Elamite consisted of about 80 symbols and was written in vertical columns running from top to bottom and left to right.
The Elamite Cuneiform script was used from about 2500 BC to 331 AD and was adapted from Akkadian Cuneiform. The Elamite Cuneiform script consisted of about 130 symbols, far fewer than most other cuneiform scripts.
The Elamite language was spoken in the Elamite Empire (Haltamti) between about 3,100 BC and 330 BC in what are now the provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam in southwestern Iran. It is know from inscriptions in several different scripts (see above). It is considered a language isolate as it is not related to any other known language.
Information about Elamite scripts and language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elamite_cuneiform
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elamite_language
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Elamite_(period)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Elamite-language
https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/have-scholars-finally-deciphered-the-mysterious-linear-elamite-script
https://iranicaonline.org/articles/elam-v
Akkadian, Elamite, Hittite, Old Persian Cuneiform, Sumerian, Ugaritic
Linear A, Indus/Harappa script, Phaistos Disc script, Proto-Elamite, Old Elamite, Rongo Rongo, Vinča script
Page last modified: 12.12.24
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