# Denise Schmandt-Besserat 1992: Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform

> Denise Schmandt-Besserat, 1992. 5 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The token theory: clay counters of the 8th to 4th millennia, sealed in clay…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0DEDJ9W53AAY/before-writing-volume-i-from-counting-to-cuneiform  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

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[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform)Denise Schmandt-Besserat 1992

**0**

# Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform

Denise Schmandt-Besserat, 1992.

**Proto-cuneiform: the archaic texts of Uruk** Book0

## What it's used for here

The token theory: clay counters of the 8th to 4th millennia, sealed in clay envelopes (bullae) and impressed on their surface, as the direct ancestors of proto-cuneiform numerals and commodity signs. Austin: University of Texas Press. Consulted through reviews and the Wikipedia summary.

## Cited by on this site 5 records

[Plain tokens sealed in bullae and impressed on their surfaces precede and resemble the numerical signs of the Uruk V…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/evidence/EVD0DEDXNNPM05C/plain-tokens-sealed-in-bullae-and-impressed-on-their)

Evidence

EVD

[Schmandt-Besserat publishes Before Writing, the token theory of the origin of the signs](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/events/EVT0DEDQQP32N8C/schmandt-besserat-publishes-before-writing-the-token-theory)

EVT

[Denise Schmandt-Besserat](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/proto-cuneiform/people/FIG0DEDPC30291R/denise-schmandt-besserat)

FIG

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

The mystery article

MYS

[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)

Question

QST

## Cite it

```
Denise Schmandt-Besserat (1992). Before Writing, Volume I: From Counting to Cuneiform. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Schmandt-Besserat
```

[Find it at en.wikipedia.org](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Schmandt-Besserat)

Key

**SRC** 0DEDJ9W53AAY

Kind

Book

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

31 Oct 2026, for editors

Added by

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

The record

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