https://tinyurl.com/y55p2gnp

The Shu-ilishu cylinder seal is a clear evidence of the Meluhhan merchants trading in copper and tin, signified by the field symbols vividly portrayed on the cylinder seal. The Meluhha merchant carries melh, mr̤eka 'goat or antelope' rebus: milakkhu 'copper' and the lady accompanying the Meluhhan carries a ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin'; On the field is shown a crucbile: 

kuṭhāru 'crucible' rebus: kuṭhāru 'armourer'. The seated person of high rank may be such a  kuṭhāru 'armourer' signified by the hieroglyph kuṭhāru 

'crucible' on the top register of the cylinder seal. 

Thus, the cylinder seal signifies a trade transaction between a Mesopotamian armourer (Akkadian speaker) and Meluhhans settling a trade contract for their copper and tin. The transaction is mediated by Shu-ilishu, the Akkadian interpreter of Meluhha language.

“This shows a seated person of high rank, royal or divine, receiving two standing visitors. A bearded dwarf perches on the seated person’s lap, his head turned to face the dignitary. The first visitor seems to be addressing the seated dignitay with the help of a hand gesture, as is the dwarf. The seal’s accompanying cuneiform inscription reads as follows: ‘su-i-li-su/eme-bal me-luh-ha’, which translates as: ‘Su-ilisu, interpreter of the Meluhhan language’—possibly the name of the dwarf (opinions differ). Sadly, no more is known about Su-ilisu. ‘We can imagine that, like the other Meluhhans, he had established some close ties within Mesopotamia’, speculates Wright. Perhaps he began as a merchant from the Indus area, learned how to speak Akkadian and then ‘forged a new profession as a translator’ for his fellow merchants. Alternatively, he could have been an Akkadian-speaking native who saw a business opportunity through learning the language of Meluhha. Either way, this unique seal offers some slight encouragement that Mesopotamian excavation may one day yield the Holy Grail of Indus Script decipherment: a bilingual inscription written in both cuneiform and the Indus Script.” (Andrew Robinson, 2015, The Indus: Lost Civilizations, Reaktion Books, pp.101-102)

Shu-ilishu's Cylinder seal. Courtesy Department des Antiquities Orientales, Musee du Louvre, Paris. The cuneiform text reads: 

Shu-Ilishu EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI 

(interpreter of Meluhha language).

Copper from Gujarat used in Mesopotmia, 3rd millennium BCE, evidenced by lead isotope analyses of tin-bronze objects; report by Begemann F. et al.

1.   Title: Über das frühe Kupfer Mesopotamiens

2.   Author(s): BEGEMANN, F. , SCHMITT-STRECKER, S. 
Journal: Iranica Antiqua
Volume: 44    Date: 2009   
Pages: 1-45
DOI: 10.2143/IA.44.0.2034374

2.   Abstract :
A lIranica Antiqua

Geographical locations of sites of Mesopotamia from which artifacts were analyzed in this work (After Fig. 1 in Begemann, F. et al, 2009 loc.cit.) The conclusion is:                                             

"Unsere bleiisotopische evidenz legt nahe, das in Mesopotamien fur legierung mit zinn verwendete kupfer urudu-luh-ha stamme aus Indien, was ebenfalls vertraglich ist mit einem import via dilmun." (Trans. Our lead isotope evidence suggests that the urudu-luh-ha copper used in Mesopotamia for tin alloying is from India, which is also contracted with an import via Dilmun.)" (opcit., p.28)

3.   A lead isotope study »On the Early copper of Mesopotamia« reports on copper-base artefacts ranging in age from the 4th millennium BC (Uruk period) to the Akkadian at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Arguments are presented that, in the (tin)bronzes, the lead associated with the tin used for alloying did not contribute to the total in any detectable way. Hence, the lead isotopy traces the copper and cannot address the problem of the provenance of tin. The data suggest as possible source region of the copper a variety of ore occurrences in Anatolia, Iran, Oman, Palestine and, rather unexpectedly (by us), from India. During the earliest period the isotopic signature of ores from Central and North Anatolia is dominant; during the next millennium this region loses its importance and is hardly present any more at all. Instead, southeast Anatolia, central Iran, Oman, Feinan-Timna in the rift valley between Dead Sea and Red Sea, and sources in the Caucasus are now potential suppliers of the copper. Generally, an unambiguous assignment of an artefact to any of the ores is not possible because the isotopic fingerprints of ore occurrences are not unique. In our suite of samples bronze objects become important during ED III (middle of the 3rd millennium BC) but they never make up more than 50 % of the total. They are distinguished in their lead isotopy by very high 206Pb-normalized abundance ratios. As source of such copper we suggest Gujarat/Southern Rajasthan which, on general grounds, has been proposed before to have been the most important supplier of copper in Ancient India. We propose this Indian copper to have been arsenic-poor and to be the urudu-luh-ha variety which is one of the two sorts of purified copper mentioned in contemporaneous written texts from Mesopotamia to have been in circulation there concurrently.

I am grateful to Prof. Nilesh Oak for identifying a brilliant piece of  archaeometallurgical provenance study which links Khetri copper mines --through Dholavira/Lothal and Persian Gulf -- with Mesopotamia. 

Trade contacts with Meluhha artisans in Mari for tin-bronze production in Mesopotamia proven by provenance studies and cuneiform texts http://tinyurl.com/yxhfgnll

I posit that, as argued in the above-cited monograph that the largest tin belt of the globe was in the river basins of Himalayan rivers Mekong, Irrawaddy and Salween which powered the Tin-Bronze Revolution of 3rd millennium BCE, evidenced in Mesopotamia. These rivers ground down granite rocks to accumulate placer deposits of cassiterite (tin ore) in these river basins thus facilitating an Ancient Maritime Tin Route which linked AFEwith ANE.

Cuneiform texts record long distance copper trade

"Cuneiform texts from the Late Uruk/Jemdet Nasr Period to the Old Babylonian Period (c. 3100-1750 B.C.) record the importation by sea of copper from Meluhha (probably northwest India), Magan (likely southeastern Arabia), and Dilmun (probably modern Bahrain) by Mesopotamian merchants, probably working either as agents for the city temple or rulers.(1) Some trade by private individuals took place as well, though on a smaller scale. (2) The archives of one merchant from Old Babylonian period Ur were excavated by Woolley; these record the importation of copper from Tilmun (probably in Iran) via the Persian Gulf, as well as various disputes with customers over the quality of his copper and the speed of his deliveries. (3) Production of finished copper and bronze products seems to have followed a similar pattern as Pylos, Alalakh, and Ugarit in Third Dynasty Ur (c. 2100 B.C.E.); at all of these sites, clay tablets record the allotment of copper to smiths for the production of weapons and other  tems.(4)" (Michael Rice Jones, 2007, Oxhide ingots, coper production, and the mediterranean trade in copper and other metals in the Bronze Age, Thsesis submitted to the Office of Graduate Studies of Texas A&M University, 418 pages: p.62).

"Metal ores, particularly the ores of copper and tin that became so important in the Bronze Age, take an enormous amount of labor and technological expertise to extract from the natural environment and process into useful finished products. Metal ores also occur in geographically localized areas, which would have limited access of prehistoric communities to metals and encouraged long distance trade between them. By the second millennium B.C.,Mediterranean societies had developed complex trade networks to transport and exchange metals and other bulk goods over long distances. Copper, particularly as the main component of bronze, became one the most important materials for tools, weapons, and statusenhancing luxury goods during the Bronze Age." (5)(ibid., p.1)

Cuneiform texts record long distance trade in tin

The largest tin belt of the globe is in Ancient Far East

"Texts from the palace of Zimri-lin (c.1780-1760 B.C.) of Mari in northern Syria attest to a thriving trade in tin operated by Assyrian merchants, who exported tin to Anatolia for twice the price at which they had purchased it.(6) These records indicate that copper and bronze were imported to Mari from Alashia, and that tin was imported to Mari from the Mesopotamian city of Esnunna; it was then transported to various cities in Syria and Palestine, ultimately reaching Ugarit.(7) The source of the tin from Mari is unknown, but it may have been transported overland from eastern Afghanistan.(8) One document records the purchase of tin by individuals called “the Caphtorite” (usually translated as ‘the Cretan’), who received 20 minas of tin “for the second time,” and “the Carian,” who received an unknown amount of tin.(9) The foreigners in Mari were likely agents for purchasing tin and other goods in the city.(10) Various objects from “Kaptara”, usually identified as Keftiu or Crete, are mentioned in the Mari texts as well; therefore, it seems likely that the tin route continued further west to

Crete and Anatolia.(11) References to objects and materials connected with Caphtor or Keftiu are also known from several Bronze-Age texts from Mari. Since references to metal objects of ‘Keftian’ origin, workmanship, or style are the most prominent associations with the name, Keftiu seems to have been known especially for its metalwork.(12) Scattered references to the name Keftiu appear in New Kingdom Egyptian texts as well, dating from perhaps as early as c. 2300 B.C., through the second and first millennia B.C.E, to the most recent references in the Roman period.(13) Keftiu is most commonly identified with Crete, although locations such as Cyprus,Cilicia, and the Cyclades have also been proposed.(14) The sophisticated Minoan metallurgy industry would have required large amounts of imported tin and copper in order to function, since there are no tin and only insignificant copper deposits known on the island.(15)"(ibid., p.58)

Source: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/JonesM-MA2007.pdf 

Source: http://nautarch.tamu.edu/Theses/pdf-files/JonesM-MA2007.pdf

Notes:

1. (Weeks, L. R. 2003. Early Metallurgy of the Persian Gulf. Boston, MA: Brill AcademicPublishers.Weeks, 14-5; Leemans W.F., 1960. Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period, as Revealed by Textsfrom Southern Mesopotamia. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill. 5, 11, 19, 21, 34, 50-1, 54; Larsen, M. T. 1976. The Old Assyrian City-State and Its Colonies. Copenhagen Studies in Assyriology Volume 4. Copenhagen, Denmark: Akademisk Forlag.Larsen, 227-8.)

2. Leemans W.F., 1960. Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period, as Revealed by Textsfrom Southern Mesopotamia. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill.,50, 56.

3. Muhly, J.D., "The Bronze Age Setting." In The Coming of the Age of Iron, 25-68. New Haven: Yale University Press, 38. 

4. Wiseman, D. J. 1953. The Alalakh Tablets. Liverpool, England: C. Tinling & Co., 2, 105-6; Ventris, M., and J. Chadwick. 1973. Documents in Mycenaean Greek. Cambridge, UK:Cambridge University Press, 352.

5. Sherratt, A. and S. Sherratt, 1961, "From Luxuries to Commodities: the Nature of Mediterranean Bronze Age Trading Systems." In Bronze Age Trade in the Mediterranean, edited by N. H. Gale, 1-15. Studies in Mediterranean

Archaeology, vol. XC. Jonsered, Sweden: Paul Åströms Förlag., pp. 361-362)

6. Muhly, J. D. 1973a. Copper and Tin: The Distribution of Mineral Resources and the Nature of the Metals Trade in the Bronze Age. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, v. 43, 155-535. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 292

7. Muly, J.D., opcit., 293; Georgiou, H. 1979. “Relations Between Cyprus and the Near East in the Middle and Late Bronze Age.” Levant 11:84-100., 86.

8.Muhly, J.D., opcit., 292; Leemans W.F., 1960. Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period, as Revealed by Textsfrom Southern Mesopotamia. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill., 138.

9. Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill., 90; Malamat, A. 1971. “Syro-Palestinian Destinations in a Mari Tin Inventory.” IEJ 21:31-8., 34.

10. Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill., 91.

11. Muhly, J. D. 1973a. Copper and Tin: The Distribution of Mineral Resources and the Nature of the Metals Trade in the Bronze Age. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, v. 43, 155-535. Hamden, CT: Archon Books., 293-4;  Leemans W.F., 1960. Foreign Trade in the Old Babylonian Period, as Revealed by Textsfrom Southern Mesopotamia. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill., 138; Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill., 91-2.

12. Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill.,, 91-3, 96; Wiener, M. H. 1990. "The Isles of Crete? The Minoan Thalassocracy Revisited." In Thera and the Aegean World III: Volume I: Archaeology, edited by D. A. Hardy,128-61. Proceedings of the Third International Congress, Santorini, Greece, 3-9 September, 1989. London: The Thera Foundation., 146.

13. Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill.,, 108-9.

14. Strange, J. 1980. Caphtor/Keftiu: A New Investigation. Leiden, Holland: E. J. Brill.,, 113-84.

15. Branigan, K. 1968. Copper and Bronze Working in Early Bronze Age Crete. Studies in Mediterranean Archaeology v. XIX. Lund, Sweden: Carl Bloms Boktryckeri A.-B., 51-2, 57; 1974, 57-65, 105-6; Wiener, M. H. 1990. "The Isles of Crete? The Minoan Thalassocracy Revisited." In Thera and the Aegean World III: Volume I: Archaeology, edited by D. A. Hardy,128-61. Proceedings of the Third International Congress, Santorini, Greece, 3-9 September, 1989. London: The Thera Foundation., 146.

Meluhha on eighteen ANE cylinder seals from ca. 24th cent. to 12th cent. BCE are merchants of metals http://tinyurl.com/hv38j9k

A Meluhha is signified on Ancient Near East cylinder seals by an antelope carried on his hands. The antelope signifies mlekh 'goat' (Br.); mr̤eka (Te.); mēṭam (Ta.); meṣam (Skt.) rebus: milakkhu 'copper' (Pali), mleccha-mukha 'copper' (Samskrtam)

On some cylinder seals additional hieroglyphs are signified to signify the nature of trade transactions and resources involved. For example, on Lajard, M. Pl. xxxv.7 cylinder seal, three additional hieroglyphs are read rebud: bica 'scorpion' rebus: bica 'haematite, stone ore' kulA 'serpent hood' rebus: kol 'working in iron' mēḍha  'polar star' Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Santali.Ho.Munda)

On VA/243, additional hieroglyph shown is:  miṇḍāl 'markhor' (Tōrwālī) Rebus: mẽṛhẽt, meḍ 'iron' (Santali.Mu.Ho.) med 'copper' (Slavic languages)

Hieroglyphs shown on other cylinder seals: 

ayo 'fish' rebus: aya 'iron' ayas 'metal' 

kāṇḍam காண்டம்² kāṇṭam, n. < kāṇḍa. 1. Water; sacred water; நீர். துருத்திவா யதுக்கிய குங்குமக் காண் டமும் (கல்லா. 49, 16). Rebus: khāṇḍā ‘metal tools,  pots and pans’ (Marathi)

koṭhAri 'crucible' Rebus: koṭhAri 'storekeeper'

arka 'sun' rebus: araka, erako 'moltencast, copper'

These eighteen cylinder seals include one with a cuneifom text which notes: Shu-Ilishu EME.BAL.ME.LUH.HA.KI (interpreter of Meluhha language.

The seal also includes an accompanying woman carrying a liquid measure: ranku 'liquid measure' rebus: ranku 'tin'. Thus, the man and woman signify traders in copper and tin.

Lajard, M. PI. xxxv. 7 (Sup. p. 32), and liii. 4. In

PI. liii. 3

 Near Eastern Section of the State Museum in East Berlin, catalogued under number VA/243.

Cylinder seal described as Akkadian circa 2334-2154 BC, cf. figure 428, p. 30. "The Surena Collection of Ancient Near Eastern Cylinder Seals." Christies Auction Catalogue. New York City. Sale of 11 June 2001). A person carrying an antelope may be a Meluhhan (as in the Shu-ilishu Meluhhan interpreter cylinder seal).

Cylinder seal of Shu-ilishu, interpreter for Meluhha. Cuneiform inscription in Old Akkadian. Serpentine. Mesopotamia ca 2220-2159 BCE H. 2.9 cm, Dia 1.8 cm Musee du Louvre, Departement des Antiquites, Orientales, Paris AO 22310 “Based on cuneiform documents from Mesopotamia we know that there was at least one Meluhhan village in Akkad at that time, with people called ‘Son of Meluhha‘ living there. The cuneiform inscription (ca. 2020 BCE) says that the cylinder seal belonged to Shu-ilishu, who was a translator of the Meluhhan language. “The presence in Akkad of a translator of the Meluhhan language suggests that he may have been literate and could read the undeciphered Indus script. This in turn suggests that there may be bilingual Akkadian/Meluhhan tablets somewhere in Mesopotamia. Although such documents may not exist, Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal offers a glimmer of hope for the future in unraveling the mystery of the Indus script.”

(Gregory L. Possehl,Shu-ilishu’s cylinder seal, Expedition, Vol. 48, Number 1, pp. 42-43).

http://www.penn.museum/documents/publications/expedition/PDFs/48-1/What%20in%20the%20World.pdf

Source: William Hayes Ward, 1910, The cylinder seals of western Asia, Carnegie Institute of Washington, Publication No. 100

https://ia600209.us.archive.org/8/items/cu31924029803172/cu31924029803172.pdf

12th cent. BCE. An Elamite silver statuette showed a person (king?) carrying an antelope on his hands, the same way a Meluhhan carried an antelope on his hands (as shown on a cylinder seal). Antelope carried by the Meluhhan is a hieroglyph: mlekh ‘goat’ (Br.); mr̤eka (Te.); mēṭam (Ta.); meṣam (Skt.) Thus, the goat conveys the message that the carrier is a Meluhha speaker.

Scorpion with a Plant Cylinder seal and impression Mesopotamia, Late Uruk period/Jamdat Nasr period (ca. 3500–2900 B.C.E.) Marble 36.5 x 21 mm Seal no. 31

bica 'scorpion' rebus: bica 'haematite,stone ore'

కండె [ kaṇḍe ] kaṇḍe. [Tel.] n. A head or ear of millet or maize. జొన్నకంకి. Mth. kã̄ṛ ʻstack of stalks of large milletʼ(CDIAL 3023). rebus: khaNDa 'implements'.

[quote] Writings in the Ur-III period describe Meluhha as the 'land of the black mountains'. Almost all scholars suggest that Meluhha was the Sumerian name for the Indus Valley Civilization. Finnish scholars Asko and Simo Parpola identify Meluhha (earlier variant Me-lah-ha) from earlier Sumerian documents with Dravidian mel akam "high abode" or "high country". Many items of trade such as wood, minerals, and gemstones were indeed extracted from the hilly regions near the Indus settlements. They further claim that Meluhha is the origin of the Sanskrit mleccha, meaning "barbarian, foreigner".(Parpola, Asko; Parpola, Simo (1975). "On the relationship of the Sumerian Toponym Meluhha and Sanskrit Mleccha". Studia Orientalia. 46: 205–238.)

The expression "Country of Me-lu-ha" (Me-luh-ha Ki) on Akkadian inscriptions.("The Indus Civilization and Dilmun, the Sumerian Paradise Land". www.penn.museum.)

Early texts (c. 2200 BC) seem to indicate that Meluhha is to the east, suggesting either the Indus valley or India. However, much later texts documenting the exploits of King Assurbanipal of Assyria (668–627 BC), long after the Indus Valley civilization had ceased to exist, seem to imply that Meluhha is to be found either in south India or in Africa, somewhere near Egypt.(Hansman, John (1973). "A "Periplus" of Magan and Meluhha". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 36 (3): 554–587.)

There is sufficient archaeological evidence for the trade between Mesopotamia and the Indian subcontinent. Impressions of clay seals from the Indus Valley city of Harappa were evidently used to seal bundles of merchandise, as clay seal impressions with cord or sack marks on the reverse side testify. A number of these Indian seals have been found at Ur and other Mesopotamian sites.("urseals". hindunet.org. Archived from the original on 2000-12-11; John Keay (2000). India: A History. p. 16.)

The Persian-Gulf style of circular stamped rather than rolled seals, also known from Dilmun, that appear at Lothal in Gujarat, India, and Failaka Island (Kuwait), as well as in Mesopotamia, are convincing corroboration of the long-distance sea trade network, which G.L. Possehl has called a "Middle Asian Interaction Sphere".(Middle Asian Interaction Sphere”, Expedition 49/1)) What the commerce consisted of is less sure: timber and precious woods, ivory, lapis lazuli, gold, and luxury goods such as carnelian and glazed stone beads, pearls from the Persian Gulf, and shell and bone inlays, were among the goods sent to Mesopotamia in exchange for silver, tin, woolen textiles, perhaps oil and grains and other foods. Copper ingots, certainly, bitumen, which occurred naturally in Mesopotamia, may have been exchanged for cotton textiles and chickens, major products of the Indus region that are not native to Mesopotamia—all these have been instanced.

Later era

Sculpture of a Mesopotamian boat, 2700-2600 BCE.

In the Assyrian and Hellenistic eras, cuneiform texts continued to use (or revive) old place names, giving a perhaps artificial sense of continuity between contemporary events and events of the distant past.(Van De Mieroop, Marc (1997). The Ancient Mesopotamian City. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 44.) For example, Media is referred to as "the land of the Gutians", (Sachs & Hunger (1988). Astronomical Diaries & Related Texts from Babylonia, vol.1. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp. –330 Obv.18.) a people who had been prominent around 2000 BCE.

Meluhha also appears in these texts, in contexts suggesting that "Meluhha" and "Magan" were kingdoms adjacent to Egypt. Assurbanipal writes about his first march against Egypt, "In my first campaign I marched against Magan, Meluhha, Tarka, king of Egypt and Ethiopia, whom Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, the father who begot me, had defeated, and whose land he brought under his sway." In the Hellenistic period, the term is sometimes used to refer to Ptolemaic Egypt, as in its account of a festival celebrating the conclusion of the Sixth Syrian War. (Sachs & Hunger (1988). Astronomical Diaries & Related Texts from Babylonia, vol.2. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. pp. –168 A Obv.14–15.)

These references do not necessarily mean that early references to Meluhha also referred to Egypt. Direct contacts between Sumer and the Indus Valley had ceased even during the Mature Harappan phase when Oman and Bahrain (Magan and Dilmun) became intermediaries. After the sack of Ur by the Elamites and subsequent invasions in Sumer, its trade and contacts shifted west and Meluhha passed almost into mythological memory. The resurfacing of the name could simply reflect cultural memory of a rich and distant land, its use in records of Achaemenid and Seleucid military expeditions serving to aggrandize those kings. [unquote]

https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Meluhha