Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems

Tepe Gheshlagh is one of the major sites with deposits of the Chalcolithic period in the east of the Central Zagros. The central question in the present study was the administrative system and ownership in the Chalcolithic period. With a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt was made to expound...

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Main Authors: Mahnaz Sharifi, Abbas Motarjem
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani) 2025-08-01
Series:Documenta Praehistorica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/21604
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author Mahnaz Sharifi
Abbas Motarjem
author_facet Mahnaz Sharifi
Abbas Motarjem
author_sort Mahnaz Sharifi
collection DOAJ
description Tepe Gheshlagh is one of the major sites with deposits of the Chalcolithic period in the east of the Central Zagros. The central question in the present study was the administrative system and ownership in the Chalcolithic period. With a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt was made to expound on Gheshlagh’s glyptic assemblage that attest to the existence of an ownership system and commercial exchanges. A structural analysis of the glyptic iconography suggested that each of the linear, circular, or repeating patterns were less mere personal insignias intended to exclude the possibility of alteration or forgery than they were marks belonging to a pre-literate system where each sign/symbol stood for individual commodity types that were transported or exchanged as such. At the same time, the composition of these widely varying geometric motifs followed certain conventions.
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language English
publishDate 2025-08-01
publisher University of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)
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series Documenta Praehistorica
spelling doaj-art-a29fbcf1b13d4e048cbc1be3b2d2accc2025-08-26T11:17:53ZengUniversity of Ljubljana Press (Založba Univerze v Ljubljani)Documenta Praehistorica1408-967X1854-24922025-08-015210.4312/dp.52.16Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systemsMahnaz Sharifi0Abbas Motarjem1Iranian Center for Archaeological Research (ICAR), Research Institute of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Tehran, IranBu – Ali Sina University, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Department of Archaeology, Hamadan, Iran Tepe Gheshlagh is one of the major sites with deposits of the Chalcolithic period in the east of the Central Zagros. The central question in the present study was the administrative system and ownership in the Chalcolithic period. With a descriptive-analytical method, an attempt was made to expound on Gheshlagh’s glyptic assemblage that attest to the existence of an ownership system and commercial exchanges. A structural analysis of the glyptic iconography suggested that each of the linear, circular, or repeating patterns were less mere personal insignias intended to exclude the possibility of alteration or forgery than they were marks belonging to a pre-literate system where each sign/symbol stood for individual commodity types that were transported or exchanged as such. At the same time, the composition of these widely varying geometric motifs followed certain conventions. https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/21604Chalcolithicstamp sealcylinder sealCentral ZagrosTepe Gheshlagh
spellingShingle Mahnaz Sharifi
Abbas Motarjem
Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
Documenta Praehistorica
Chalcolithic
stamp seal
cylinder seal
Central Zagros
Tepe Gheshlagh
title Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
title_full Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
title_fullStr Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
title_full_unstemmed Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
title_short Chalcolithic stamp seals from Tepe Gheshlagh, and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
title_sort chalcolithic stamp seals from tepe gheshlagh and a look into their application in ownership and exchange systems
topic Chalcolithic
stamp seal
cylinder seal
Central Zagros
Tepe Gheshlagh
url https://journals.uni-lj.si/DocumentaPraehistorica/article/view/21604
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