Question

read the passage. one of the earliest known civilizations on earth arose thousands of years ago in mesopotamia, a region of southwestern asia. this area included most of present - day iraq, as well as parts of turkey and syria. the people of mesopotamia left behind some of the worlds oldest extant documents. these documents lasted so long because they were written on durable clay tablets; paper had not yet been invented. the tablets from mesopotamia are etched with the ancient sumerian language. by decoding and translating the script, researchers have gained important information about the rich culture of the long - ago writers. what is the meaning of extant as used in the passage? not translated or explained not invented or created not identified or examined not destroyed or lost

Explanation:

The passage mentions that the documents from Mesopotamia lasted long as they were on durable clay tablets. "Extant" here refers to the state of these documents still existing, meaning not destroyed or lost.

Answer:

not destroyed or lost