# The links between complex tokens and commodity signs rest on visual resemblance, most token subtypes are unique or…

> The links between complex tokens and commodity signs rest on visual resemblance, most token subtypes are unique or rare, and the catalogue's categories…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEDXNTS6VYG/the-links-between-complex-tokens-and-commodity-signs-rest-on  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)Evidence

Evidence · Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk

# The links between complex tokens and commodity signs rest on visual resemblance, most token subtypes are unique or…

The links between complex tokens and commodity signs rest on visual resemblance, most token subtypes are unique or rare, and the catalogue's categories and dates are inconsistent.

Supported0

## What it means

Key question[Were the clay tokens and bullae the direct ancestors of the proto-cuneiform signs?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/questions/QST0DEDT894EG53/were-the-clay-tokens-and-bullae-the-direct-ancestors-of-the)

No answer ahead yet

**Open** unchanged

Answer this evidence bears on[The token theory](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/answers/ANS0DEDW56J28YC/the-token-theory)

Counts against1 for, 1 against

**Still possible** unchanged

## Sources 1

[Review of Denise Schmandt-Besserat, Before Writing](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJAZ7E2W9/review-of-denise-schmandt-besserat-before-writing)

Zimansky 1993

SRC

## Cite it

```
Mysteries Department. (2026). The links between complex tokens and commodity signs rest on visual resemblance, most token subtypes are unique or… [Evidence EVD0DEDXNTS6VYG]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/EVD0DEDXNTS6VYG
```

Key

**EVD** 0DEDXNTS6VYG

Kind

Evidence

Tier

Supported

Found in

[Session 1](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/sessions/SES0DEDZMVP66KE/session-1-proto-cuneiform-seeded-corpus-readings-and-open) · 31 Oct 2026

Version

1

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[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

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