On the Interpretation of Stelae in the Cult Complexes of Northern Mesopotamia During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
On the Interpretation of Stelae in the Cult Complexes of Northern Mesopotamia During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic
DOI: 10.17746/1563-0110.2018.46.4.013-021
T.V. Kornienko
Voronezh State Pedagogical University, Lenina 86, Voronezh, 594045, Russia
Applying an interdisciplinary and semiotic approach, this manuscript presents original interpretation of vertical stelae/pillars/pilasters found in the religious complexes of Northern Mesopotamia during the transition to the Neolithic. We describe general trends in the content of rituals across the early sedentary period. One key theme appears to have been procreation, fertility, and prosperity. Monumental stelae and pillars of this period in Upper Mesopotamia, while depicting zoo-anthropomorphic deities, might also themselves referenced a male procreative force. The shift to sedentism likely contributed to worship of deities associated with specific locations and human groups. The Northern Mesopotamian archaeological record also hints at totemic beliefs typical of hunting-gathering societies, and differing from those practiced by the early farmers. Religious innovations of this period appear (albeit in transformed fashion) in later cultures of the Ancient Near East, as attested by both archaeological and written sources.
