Seals and Sealing in Uruk Mesopotamia
Kirstin Krusell
October 08, 2009
Introduction to the Ancient Near East
British Museum: Pale green volcanic tuff; Proto-Elamite 3000-2700 BCE
The Uruk Period
• Chalcolithic to Early Bronze Age – ca. 4000-3100 BCE
• Named for the Sumerian city of Uruk, also known as Warka or the Biblical Erech– Located on eastern coast of southern Euphrates
• Defined by gradual emergence of urban life and cuneiform writing
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The Context of Cuneiform
• Urbanization and population increase– Need for more sophisticated administrative systems
• Earliest known written documents discovered in Uruk
– Pictographs gradually transformed into cuneiform
• Seals found even earlier than tablets– Devised for more efficient and reliable transactions– Seals cover same geographic scope as cuneiform– Seals dated by cuneiform inscriptions
Cylinder Seals
• Variety of materials– stone and mineral: lapis lazuli (imported from Afghanistan), calcite (marble),
carnelian, amethyst, steatite (soapstone), hematite– glass, faience, baked clay, wood, bone, shell, ivory, metal
• Often pierced lengthwise with caps at either end or topped with animal-shaped knob.
– worn on pin/string, or mounted on swivel
• Design carved in intaglio– incised on cylinder so that impression yields image in relief
Ancient and Contemporary Uses
• Protect private property– seal jars, doors– evidence of tampering is obvious
• Notarize/authorize legal transactions– contracts, loans, treaties, etc.– developed from hollow clay balls/tokens
• Seals come to be associated with the protection of the owner
– used in rituals against illness, jealousy
• Vast source of pictorial information– political, cultural, economic, societal aspects – genealogical information
Sealings: Seal-Impressed Artifacts
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Cylinder seal impressed hollow clay ball containing tokens & Drawing HN1100(Pittman 1996b
Hollow Clay Ball and Tokens
6000 year old site of Hacinebi in the Euphrates river valley of southeast Turkey
Jar Stoppers
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Uruk cylinder-seal impressed jar stopper. "Ears" motif. HN9410 -Op. 14 locus 80 & Drawing. (Pittman 1999:fig.3)
The Priest-King
British Museum: White and cream calcite; Uruk, 3200-3100 BCE
Social Hierarchy
Cattle Herd in a Wheat Field
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Department of Oriental Antiquities Limestone, Mesopotamia, Uruk Period (4100- 3000 BCE).
Animal Files
Monstrous Lions and Lion-Headed Eagles
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Department of Oriental Antiquities; Jasper cylinder seal and impression; Mesopotamia, Uruk Period (4100 BC ミ 3000 BC).
Mythical Beasts
Geometric Designs
British Museum: Fired steatite cylinder seal; Uruk,Early Dynastic period, about 3000-2800 BC
3000-2334 BCE
Bull-men and Heroes
British Museum: White calcite cylinder seal; Probably from southern IraqEarly Dynastic period, ca 2700 BC
A Combat Scene
Banquet Scenes
British Museum: Green sparry calcite seal; Ur, Early Dynastic Period, ca 2600 BCE
• Found in a grave at a royal cemetery in Ur
• Evidence of a gendered use of cylinder seals?
Sources
• British Museum Website– http://www.britishmuseum.org/
• Collon, Dominique. First Impression: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East. London: British Museum Press, 1987.
• Hacinebi Archaeological Excavations– http://faculty-web.at.northwestern.edu/anthropology/stein/
• Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Oxfordshire: Andromeda Oxford Ltd, 1990.
• Wikimedia Commons– http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page