Possible Effects of Geometric Decoration on Chalcolithic Pottery from Nakhchivan on Visual Attention and Its Relationship to Belief in the Evil Eye
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Visual perception provides a means of exploring the relationship between the material characteristics of archaeological objects and the cognitive processes involved in their observation. From this perspective, the present study examines the possible effects of geometric decoration on visual attention and its potential relationship with protective beliefs in Chalcolithic pottery from Nakhchivan. Drawing on published ceramic assemblages from Nakhchivantepe, Bülövqaya, Uçan Ağıl, and Uzunoba, the study brings together archaeological evidence and approaches from cognitive and experimental psychology to investigate how decorative arrangements may influence visual exploration and acquire symbolic significance. Two working hypotheses are considered. The first proposes that multidirectional and intersecting geometric patterns may encourage visual exploration across different areas of the ceramic surface, whereas predominantly unidirectional arrangements may produce more restricted patterns of visual attention. The second suggests that such decorative compositions may have been associated with protective beliefs, including concepts comparable to the evil eye, within particular prehistoric contexts. These possibilities are examined as interpretative hypotheses rather than established relationships, since no experimental eye-tracking data are available to assess the proposed perceptual effects. Evidence of protective practices from later periods of the ancient Near East provides a comparative context, although it cannot demonstrate continuity with Chalcolithic belief systems. By bringing together the perceptual properties of ceramic decoration and its possible symbolic dimensions, this study outlines a framework for future experimental investigation while emphasizing the need for independent archaeological evidence to evaluate protective interpretations.
Source: Porta Universorum
Author: Elmar Bakhshaliyev
Institution: Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7225626685
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