Ancient culture of Jiroft could expand the 'Cradle of Civilisation'

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Flooding in 2001 near Jiroft, Iran, exposed the ruins of an ancient necropolis from a Bronze Age culture that flourished alongside Mesopotamia. The full importance of the discovery became clearer after archaeologists made formal surveys of the area and found that this undocumented culture dated back nearly 5,000 years to the Bronze Age. 

The initial picture of the Jiroft civilisation that existed was revelead by Iranian archaeologist Yousef Madjidzadeh who suggested that an urban centre had been established at the Jiroft site as long ago as the end of the fifth millennium B.C.

His optimistic conclusion stated that “The region of Jiroft . . . was a major occupation of urban character in the region during the third millennium B.C. Its centre was in the valley of the Halil River where large sites with monumental architecture, sizeable craft production areas, domestic quarters, and extensive extramural cemeteries dominated the landscape.” 

Archaeologists were thrilled to discover the complexity and beauty of the artworks found at the Jiroft site. The decorative iconography present on hundreds of the vessels is rich with skillfully executed symbolism and shows remarkable similarities with the iconography associated with the Mesopotamian tradition. The scorpion images found at Jiroft echo the scorpion-men depicted in the royal necropolis at Ur. The parallels are so pronounced that it is theorised that the two cultures could share a common cultural heritage.

Most striking of all are the recurrent, distinctive images of an inverted bull with an eagle hovering above it and of battles between eagles and snakes. These two motifs appear on many of the vessels found at Jiroft and seem to evoke one of the most famous Mesopotamian myths: that of Etana, the mythical shepherd-king of Kish who is cited on the Sumerian king list, as the first sovereign after the universal flood. 

Archaeologists found distinctive objects—some practical, some decorative, and others sacred—that often featured carved semiprecious stones such as calcite, chlorite, obsidian, and lapis lazuli. The citizens of this city seem to have maintained close contact with cities in Mesopotamia, the region located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (roughly coinciding with present-day Iraq). 

 

Source - https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/history-and-civilisation/2021/02/buried-for-4000-years-this-ancient-culture-could-expand-the-cradle

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Controversially, some historians argue that an inscription found at Jiroft is the oldest piece of writing ever discovered, and the first script system that is not just hieroglyphic. It was dated to around 3.000 B.C.

Before that were the cuineforms (early ''pseudo-writing'' system of Sumer) and hieroglyphs (early ''pseudo-writing'' system of Egypt). Absolute oldest would be Tartaria Tablets, found in Romania (5.500 B.C.), altough is debated if they are writings or drawings.