Uruk

City and writing

Uruk was an ancient city at Warka in southern IraqIraqIraq is a modern country encompassing much of ancient MesopotamiaGlossary · Click to read the explanation, within MesopotamiaMesopotamiaA historical region associated with the Tigris and Euphrates, home to many societies and civilisations.Glossary · Click to read the explanation. It was a major urban centre around 3200 BCE, in the late fourth millennium BCE, known for monumental architecture, works of art and early tablets. ^[1]

Its texts record goods distribution and workers’ rations, and include lists gathering words and signs, known as lexical lists. These witnesses help trace proto-cuneiformProto-cuneiformEarly Mesopotamian writing of the late fourth millennium BCE, combining numerical notation and signs, predominantly accounts with limited phonetic use.Glossary · Click to read the explanation, the early writing that preceded cuneiformCuneiformWriting with wedge-shaped signs, developed from Mesopotamian recording traditions and used for several languages from the third millennium BCE.Glossary · Click to read the explanation in its later form. Uruk names a city; a text’s language is studied through its signs and context. ^[1][2]

The photograph is a modern view of the remains, taken in 2016. The sign in front is modern visitor information; the beginnings of writing are studied through dated tablets and comparison with evidence from other sites.