Leonard Woolley waxing a skeleton for removal, in Ur (1929-1930) (courtesy of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) After excavation, ancient artifacts embark on an ...

The origins of writing in ancient Mesopotamia and beyond may rest on a group of cylindrical seals. A team of archeologists from the University of Bologna in Italy has identified a series of ...

The Great Ziggurat of Ur rose above one of Mesopotamia’s most powerful cities, a major center of trade, religion, and royal authority founded around 5,800 years ago in southern Iraq. Built for the ...

One of three clay cuneiform tablets discovered at the Middle Bronze Age site of Kurd Qaburstan in northeast Iraq. It was found in a debris-filled corridor in the lower town palace. Early ...

Around 40,000 years ago, Paleolithic people inscribed bone with symbols that appear to be part of some sort of writing system ...

As Iraq fitfully rebuilds, a groundbreaking exhibition is showcasing that nation’s rich roots in Mesopotamia, the region that gave birth to the world’s first urban civilization some 5,000 years ago.

The discoveries shed new light on life in ancient Mesopotamia. Examples of the cuneiform tablets found, and an aerial view of Fayadia District, Iraq. Photo: Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and ...

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Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Making the jump from using symbols to writing is considered a major development in human cognitive abilities. Tracing how and when ...

Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story: When was the dawn of writing? Cuneiform tablets from ancient Mesopotamia seem to answer that question in the sense that symbols represent sounds, ...