Gäumann, Nicole Simone (2023). Die Materialität Mesopotamischer Glyptik. Naturwissenschaftliche und typologische Untersuchungen an Rollsiegeln und die Analyse der Konkordanz von Material, Bildmotiv und sozialem Kontext. (Thesis). Universität Bern, Bern
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Abstract
Since humans have lived in social communities, their strongly pronounced sense of ownership has been discernible to the present day. It was precisely for this purpose that cylinder seals were invented in Mesopotamia in the second half of the 4th millennium BCE - to mark property as such and to represent oneself or an institution in administrative processes. They became objects of personal identification and uniqueness was sought, which was achieved through various representations, partly combined with inscriptions, as well as through materiality. The choice of motifs and materials was subject to social as well as economic constraints, thus access to certain raw materials was available only to high-ranking individuals, or certain scenes and motives were reserved for palatial or sacred institutions. The examination of these factors thus allows, in addition to questions concerning the accessibility of raw materials, far-reaching sociocultural statements about the society of the time. Scientific analysis of the materials used to craft the seals are practically unavailable to date. Material identifications still rely predominantly on the visual attributions of the original editors. Nor do comprehensive studies on the correlation between material choice and the motifs employed exist. This dissertation contributes toward closing this research gap. It is based on an SNSF project from the 1980s that was not brought to completion, by Dr. Julia Asher-Greve and Prof. Dr. Willem Stern, former University of Basel, within which 1017 cylinder seals were scientifically examined by means of XRD and EDS-XRF. In addition to securing, processing, and completing the data collected at the time - which have hitherto remained unpublished - the cylinder seals of the 3rd millennium BCE were subjected to typological analysis and examined for preferred combinations of materials, colors, and motifs. Inscriptions, with which around half of the seals studied are furnished, permit demographic statements. The present study combines art-historical and archaeological methods such as typologies and iconological image analyses with scientific material analyses. Correlations among material choice, iconographic themes and motifs, and seal holders were identified and assessed through statistical procedures; potential causes were then examined considering the historical context.
| Item Type: | Thesis |
|---|---|
| Dissertation Type: | Single |
| Date of Defense: | 21 September 2023 |
| Subjects: | 900 History > 930 History of ancient world (to ca. 499) |
| Institute / Center: | 06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of Archaeological Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Hammer Igor |
| Date Deposited: | 22 Sep 2025 15:13 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Sep 2025 22:25 |
| URI: | https://boristheses.unibe.ch/id/eprint/6732 |
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