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Besides simple geometric shapes, the tokens could assume fairly complex forms, or even the shape of objects (fig. 26a), but again, they could represent only one piece of information. A further development did away with this limitation. Not very long before the emergence of writing, hollow clay balls appeared, whose surface was covered entirely by seal impressions and The First Urban Society and the Use of Writing 37 figure 26. Precursors of writing: (a) stamp seal; (b) simple counting devices; (c) sealed bulla (hollow clay ball); (d) cylinder seal; (e) complex counters; (f) numerical tablet; (g) accounting tablet, ca.

To implement the system was just a matter of time. All these advances took place only after the Ubaid period, pointing to an enormous acceleration of the process, especially after its stagnation for several thousand years. By consulting the results of the research on ancient climate and on the hinterland of Uruk, we can date this acceleration to the few centuries before 3200. The inconsistent sedimentation of the layers forming the seabed of the Persian Gulf has been mentioned earlier. Most important was a relatively quick change during the fourth millennium from a humid climate to a cooler and dryer one, diminishing the amount of water in the rivers.

A shaft was placed between two bearings (which were probably lubricated in some way) such that a tool affi xed to it could be set in rapid rotation. Here we encounter another fi rst, the prototype of all rotating tools. We know of at least two tools using this principle at the time. One of these new tools was the fast potter’s wheel, which revolutionized pottery production. The perpendicular axle was affixed to a plate near its upper end, while the lower end moved within a socket. In contrast to the turntable used before, the fast wheel rotated freely, thus allowing vessels to be formed from the clay on the wheel.