Proto-Elamite: Writing and Society in Early Iran, written by Kathryn Kelley, a researcher at Uppsala University, was published by Cambridge University Press in July 2026.

This work examines one of the world’s oldest writing systems, namely the Proto-Elamite script. Despite over a century since its discovery, this script remains only partially deciphered. To date, approximately 1,700 clay tablets dating from around 3300 to 2900 BCE have been discovered at archaeological sites across Iran, offering valuable insight into the administrative, economic, and social structures of early Iranian societies.

According to this book, Proto-Elamite tablets utilized a complex system of hundreds of signs to record commodities, individuals, and institutions, standing among the most significant documents from the earliest stages of writing development in the world. Nevertheless, because the study of this script lies at the intersection of various academic disciplines, it has so far received relatively little attention from scholars.

In this book, Kathryn Kelley demonstrates that by leveraging interdisciplinary approaches, a deeper understanding of the Proto-Elamite script and the society that produced it can be achieved. She also highlights ongoing decipherment projects that combine mathematical methods, comparative studies, tablet collection digitization, and modern computer science tools to open new horizons for reading these ancient documents.

The publication of this book represents an important step in introducing the latest research on one of the world’s oldest writing systems and ancient Iranian history, serving as a valuable resource for researchers in archaeology, linguistics, history, and Near Eastern studies.

The book’s chapter titles are as follows:

• The Paths to Writing in Iran
• The Proto-Elamite World
• Approaches to Decipherment
• The System of Signs
• Proto-Elamite Economies and Their Participants
• Writing as Social Practice
• The Afterlife of Proto-Elamite

News link:
https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/protoelamite/3684B7262E21A8B6AF8657D948A5B1A6