Stamp Seal with Hunting Scene

4000 BC - 3100 BC
Marble
Original Site Unknown
3.6 cm x 3.2 cm x 1.2 cm
A12466

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Stamp Seal with Hunting Scene

This stamp seal was made from a piece of marble. It would have been pressed onto clay to produce a unique impression, or "signature," that was used either to indicate ownership or to safeguard personal possessions. This seal depicts what is possibly a scene of men hunting gazelles.

Multimedia

Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
What was life like in ancient Mesopotamia? Find out in this video featuring Oriental Institute Assyriologist Dr. Martha Roth.

Suggested Readings

Collon, Dominique. Interpreting the Past: Near Eastern Seals. University of California Press. 1990.

Hunter, Erica. First Civilizations: Cultural Atlas for Young People. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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