Seals without style: unclassified cylinder seals as an understudied assemblage in Late Cypriot glyptic
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: In the absence of robust evidence for the use of cylinder seals in Late Cypriot administration, these artefacts have been understood as symbols of status and identity on the island. Assessments of Cypriot glyptics have focused largely on what have come to be referred to as the Elaborate, Derivate and Common Styles; with these different styles equated with separate social strata on the island. However, these three groups represent only a small proportion of the island’s overall glyptic assemblage. The paper re‑evaluates the role of cylinder seals in Late Cypriot society using cylinders which lack preserved representational imagery as a case study. These objects are considered from the perspective of affordances and Information Exchange Theory. It is suggested the visibility of seals across different spatial scales shaped the nature of their cultural entanglement, potentially helping to explain seemingly contradictory trends in the glyptic assemblage.
DOI: 10.4000/12ls0
Author: Alexander Donald
Institution: La Trobe University
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4403983299