Post-Akkadian and Ur III Features on Cylinder Seals from Kültepe-Kanesh: An Iconographic and Stylistic Analysis

Abstract

The cylinder seals uncovered at Kültepe- Kanesh, which date to the last quarter of the Early Bronze Age, are completely foreign to Anatolian sealing practices in terms of both their form and the style of depiction they utilize. These foreign characteristics point to a new and important aspect of the cross-border relations of Anatolia. Cylinder seals, which are known to have been used for the first time in the Uruk period from the second half of the 4th millennium BC in the Near East, represent a lesser known type for Anatolian geography in the 3rd millennium BC. Examples of cylinder seals dating to the 3rd millennium BC apart from Kültepe are known from the excavations of Troy, Alişar, Gordion, and Seyitömer in the northern part of the Taurus Mountains and the inner and western parts of Anatolia. The Kültepe cylinder seals not only contribute to our knowledge about the extent of cylinder seal usage in Anatolia in the 3rd millennium BC, but also add a new dimension to Anatolian sealing practices via the stylistic features of their compositions and the descriptions on them.

Keywords

• Anatolian Sealing Tradion,3rd Millennium,Kültepe Kanesh,Seals of Post Akkadian and Ur III Period,Cross Border Interactions

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