M346 sign of sheep or livestock? Examining livestock texts in the Proto-Elamite Writing based on the collection of flower inscriptions of the National Museum of Iran

South-west Asia, in the second half of the fourth millennia B.C, was going through social transformations, which in turn led to the emergence of writing. During this transformation, the pseudo-Elamite script in the south of Mesopotamia and proto-Elamite in the Iranian plateau progressed rapidly, to such an extent that the Proto-Elamite script was soon spread across the Iranian plateau. These writing systems were adopted mainly for administrative and accounting purposes, and despite their differences, there are still significant similarities between the two; similarities such as adding systems, the same numerical signs, and some shared ideograms. Given the fact that the pseudo-Elamite script into the Acadian script, it is now evident for the researchers to detect the texts, however despite discovering the proto-Elamite tablets in exploring the Susa classics a century ago, it is still not entirely deciphered to this day. In this study, it is attempted to present a description and analysis of Susa husbandry texts, particularly M346, using the descriptive-analytical method and gathering the information through documentary and library methods. A significant section of the proto-Elamite texts is related to the livestock and the livestock calculations, which is one of the most recurring livestock signs in M346. This sign, according to the researchers, is taken to be a sign for goats to this day, which is written as UDU in the pseudo-Cuneiform script, however, some texts from the Iranian national museum refer to this sign as goats, and in some cases as livestock or a set of livestock animals, pointing out the double-function of sign in Elamite script depending on the context.