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Selves Engraved on Stone: Seals and Identity in the Ancient Near East, ca. 1415â1050 BCE
Series: - Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, Volume: 129
Author:
Typically carved in stone, the cylinder seal is perhaps the most distinctive art form to emerge in ancient Mesopotamia. It spread across the Near East from ca. 3300 BCE onwards, and remained in use for millennia. What was the role of this intricate object in the making of a person's social identity? As the first comprehensive study dedicated to this question, Selves Engraved on Stone explores the ways in which different but often intersecting aspects of identity, such as religion, gender, community and profession, were constructed through the material, visual, and textual characteristics of seals from Mesopotamia and Syria.
Serdar Yalçın, Ph.D. (2014), Columbia University, is Assistant Professor of Ancient and Medieval Art History at Macalester College. He published various articles on seals and identity, and artistic interconnections in the ancient Mediterranean in peer-review journals and edited volumes.
Authorâs Note
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
1 Introduction
â1âHistorical Background: The Ancient Near East in the Late Bronze Age
2 Identity as a Theoretical Framework in the Study of Ancient Art
â1âIs Identity a Valid Tool for Studying Ancient Art?
â2âGender, Community, and Others: Prominent Identities in the Ancient Near East
â3âConstructing Ancient Identities through Material and Visual Culture
3 People Praying on Stone: Identity in Kassite Babylonian Seals, ca. 1415â1155 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âBabylonian Glyptic during the Kassite Period
â3âSeals and Religious Identity in Kassite Babylonia
â4âFamily and Community Relations in Kassite Babylonian Seals
â5âGender and Seals in Kassite Babylonia
â6âProfession and Institutional Affiliations in Kassite Babylonian Seals
â7âSynopsis
4 Men of the State: Seals as Markers of Distinction in Assyria, ca. 1353â1050 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âMiddle Assyrian Glyptic Tradition from the 14th to the 11th Centuries BCE
â3âReligious Identity in Middle Assyrian Seals
â4âFamily and Community Relations in Middle Assyrian Seals
â5âGender and Representation in Middle Assyrian Seals
â6âProfessional and Institutional Affiliations in Middle Assyrian Seals
â7âSynopsis
5 Under the Shadow of the Great Kings: Seals and Identity in Hittite Syria, ca. 1340â1180 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âScholarship on the Glyptics of Late Bronze Age Syria
â3âReligious Identity in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â4âFamily and Community Relations in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â5âGender and Representation in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â6âProfessional and Institutional Affiliations in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â7âSynopsis
6 Conclusion
Appendix 1: List of Seals and Seal Impressions Discussed in the Text
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
List of Figures
1 Introduction
â1âHistorical Background: The Ancient Near East in the Late Bronze Age
2 Identity as a Theoretical Framework in the Study of Ancient Art
â1âIs Identity a Valid Tool for Studying Ancient Art?
â2âGender, Community, and Others: Prominent Identities in the Ancient Near East
â3âConstructing Ancient Identities through Material and Visual Culture
3 People Praying on Stone: Identity in Kassite Babylonian Seals, ca. 1415â1155 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âBabylonian Glyptic during the Kassite Period
â3âSeals and Religious Identity in Kassite Babylonia
â4âFamily and Community Relations in Kassite Babylonian Seals
â5âGender and Seals in Kassite Babylonia
â6âProfession and Institutional Affiliations in Kassite Babylonian Seals
â7âSynopsis
4 Men of the State: Seals as Markers of Distinction in Assyria, ca. 1353â1050 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âMiddle Assyrian Glyptic Tradition from the 14th to the 11th Centuries BCE
â3âReligious Identity in Middle Assyrian Seals
â4âFamily and Community Relations in Middle Assyrian Seals
â5âGender and Representation in Middle Assyrian Seals
â6âProfessional and Institutional Affiliations in Middle Assyrian Seals
â7âSynopsis
5 Under the Shadow of the Great Kings: Seals and Identity in Hittite Syria, ca. 1340â1180 BCE
â1âHistorical Introduction
â2âScholarship on the Glyptics of Late Bronze Age Syria
â3âReligious Identity in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â4âFamily and Community Relations in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â5âGender and Representation in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â6âProfessional and Institutional Affiliations in the Seals from Hittite Syria
â7âSynopsis
6 Conclusion
Appendix 1: List of Seals and Seal Impressions Discussed in the Text
Bibliography
Index
This book would be of interest for scholars specialized in Near Eastern art and archaeology, glyptic experts, university libraries and academics investigating the issue of identity in pre-modern societies.