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Rewriting history.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Rewriting history. (cover story)
Authors: Barras, Colin (AUTHOR)
Source: New Scientist. 5/9/2026, Vol. 270 Issue 3594, p30-34. 5p. 7 Color Photographs.
Subjects: Language & languages, Decoders & decoding, Written communication, Inscriptions, Ancient cities & towns, Cultural history
Geographic Terms: Iran
Abstract: The article focuses on proto-Elamite, an ancient and largely undeciphered script from Iran dating back about 5200 years, which challenges the traditional view that early writing began solely with Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform. Proto-Elamite tablets, primarily found at the ancient city of Susa, suggest this script may have been the most advanced of its time, potentially encoding spoken language through a syllabic system, unlike the primarily economic record-keeping functions of contemporary scripts. Despite its sophistication, proto-Elamite was abandoned around 4900 years ago, possibly due to social rejection of writing as a tool of control, contrasting with the continued use and development of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Recent discoveries, including the decipherment of the related Linear Elamite script, have sparked debate about whether Linear Elamite evolved from proto-Elamite or represents an independent invention. This research highlights the complexity and diversity of early writing systems and their varying cultural trajectories. [Extracted from the article]
Copyright of New Scientist is the property of New Scientist Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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Header DbId: egs
DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 193516258
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Periodical
PubTypeId: serialPeriodical
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
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  Data: Rewriting history. (cover story)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Barras%2C+Colin%22">Barras, Colin</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22New+Scientist%22">New Scientist</searchLink>. 5/9/2026, Vol. 270 Issue 3594, p30-34. 5p. 7 Color Photographs.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+%26+languages%22">Language & languages</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Decoders+%26+decoding%22">Decoders & decoding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Written+communication%22">Written communication</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inscriptions%22">Inscriptions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ancient+cities+%26+towns%22">Ancient cities & towns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cultural+history%22">Cultural history</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Iran%22">Iran</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: The article focuses on proto-Elamite, an ancient and largely undeciphered script from Iran dating back about 5200 years, which challenges the traditional view that early writing began solely with Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform. Proto-Elamite tablets, primarily found at the ancient city of Susa, suggest this script may have been the most advanced of its time, potentially encoding spoken language through a syllabic system, unlike the primarily economic record-keeping functions of contemporary scripts. Despite its sophistication, proto-Elamite was abandoned around 4900 years ago, possibly due to social rejection of writing as a tool of control, contrasting with the continued use and development of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt. Recent discoveries, including the decipherment of the related Linear Elamite script, have sparked debate about whether Linear Elamite evolved from proto-Elamite or represents an independent invention. This research highlights the complexity and diversity of early writing systems and their varying cultural trajectories. [Extracted from the article]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of New Scientist is the property of New Scientist Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=193516258
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  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 5
        StartPage: 30
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Language & languages
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Decoders & decoding
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Written communication
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Inscriptions
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ancient cities & towns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cultural history
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Iran
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Rewriting history.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Barras, Colin
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            – D: 09
              M: 05
              Text: 5/9/2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 270
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              Value: 3594
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: New Scientist
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