Abstract

The history of Elam commences with the appearance of the proto-cuneiform writing system in Susa III (levels 17–16 of the Acropole) and the mention of its name in administrative texts of Urukagina of Lagash around the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. However, widespread evidence of common artistic expressions in glyptic art originating from an Elamite cultural background can already be seen at the beginning of 3rd millennium BC, with a homogenous cultural horizon involving the main political structures of western, central and eastern Iran (see Proto-Elamite Period). Seals and sealings were, however, widely known before the Proto-Elamite period and represent one of the most important sources of evidence for the cultural development of the Susiana plain and Iranian highlands.