Nurtured by the alluvial planes of the Indus river, the Indus Valley hosted one of the world's oldest urban cultures. From 3300 to 1700 BC, the Indus people built impressive cities like Mohenjo-daro ...

Over the past century, archaeologists have uncovered more than 1,600 Proto-Elamite inscriptions, but only about 43 in Linear Elamite, scattered widely across Iran. Illustration by Meilan Solly / ...