Prehistoric and Ancient Historic Interactions
19
scutes of E. imbricata) seems to have been especially useful for cultural artifacts.
It was used for fishhooks in the Caribbean, and also for hairpins and other body
ornaments, as well as for religious objects, in the southeastern U.S.
1.3 ARCHAEOLOGY: CULTURAL ARTIFACTS RELATED
TO MARINE TURTLES
As with the zooarchaeological material, some of the oldest records of cultural
artifacts seem to come from Arabia and nearby. However, in many cases there is
confusion about whether marine turtles were actually being depicted. Chelonians
“are not often represented in [ancient Mesopotamian] art, and even when they are
pictured there is as a rule no clear distinction between the salt-water turtle and the
land tortoise” (van Buren, 1939: 103). Some interpretations of chelonians — for
example, on cylinder seals — have been subsequently reinterpreted as representing
totally different animals, for example, hedgehogs (van Buren, 1939: 103). It is not
valid to assume that if there are zooarchaeological records of marine turtles there
should also be cultural artifacts. For example, it was concluded that “Although
dugong and turtle dominated among the faunal remains, they appear not to have
been the dominant creatures in the Umm an-Narians’ world of art and religion”
(Hoch, 1979: 606).
There are numerous representations of chelonians in Asia, particularly from
India and China, as well as in ancient Greece and Oceania. Some of these clearly
represent marine turtles (e.g., Wingert, 1953: 73), but a thorough review of these
voluminous materials is beyond the scope of the present chapter. (See also Molina,
1981.)
1.3.1 CULTURAL ARTIFACTS OF MARINE TURTLES IN ARABIA, THE
MIDDLE EAST, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
Engraved cylinders, or seals, are known from a variety of sites in Mesopotamia and
neighboring areas. One such seal from the nineteenth-century collections of Layard,
attributed to the Mesopotamian site of Nimrod (or “Nimroud”), depicts a large turtle
with a large bird, before a human figure (Layard, 1853: 604). The chelonian is
thought to be a marine turtle (Albenda, 1983: 27), and the relatively large size of
the flippers is consistent with this interpretation.
Seals and seal impressions that include motifs of turtles have been recorded at
Saar, Bahrain, and dated to 2000–1900 B.C.E., the early Dilmun period. A stamp seal
found in a grave at Hamad Town (Figure 1.2) depicts a fishing scene in which two
people are standing in a boat, one of whom is apparently lifting (or spearing) a turtle
with large flippers, using a pole (or possibly a gaff or harpoon) of some sort (Vine,
1993: 53). At least three other seals from Saar include chelonians, and in two of
these the animals clearly appear to have flippers; either one or both of these may
represent a marine turtle. In one case the turtle accompanies an erotic scene (Figure 1.3), but erotic depictions on Dilmun seals are not unusual, so the significance
of the turtle is unclear (Killick, in litt., 13 February 2002).
1123_C01.fm Page 19 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM
19
scutes of E. imbricata) seems to have been especially useful for cultural artifacts.
It was used for fishhooks in the Caribbean, and also for hairpins and other body
ornaments, as well as for religious objects, in the southeastern U.S.
1.3 ARCHAEOLOGY: CULTURAL ARTIFACTS RELATED
TO MARINE TURTLES
As with the zooarchaeological material, some of the oldest records of cultural
artifacts seem to come from Arabia and nearby. However, in many cases there is
confusion about whether marine turtles were actually being depicted. Chelonians
“are not often represented in [ancient Mesopotamian] art, and even when they are
pictured there is as a rule no clear distinction between the salt-water turtle and the
land tortoise” (van Buren, 1939: 103). Some interpretations of chelonians — for
example, on cylinder seals — have been subsequently reinterpreted as representing
totally different animals, for example, hedgehogs (van Buren, 1939: 103). It is not
valid to assume that if there are zooarchaeological records of marine turtles there
should also be cultural artifacts. For example, it was concluded that “Although
dugong and turtle dominated among the faunal remains, they appear not to have
been the dominant creatures in the Umm an-Narians’ world of art and religion”
(Hoch, 1979: 606).
There are numerous representations of chelonians in Asia, particularly from
India and China, as well as in ancient Greece and Oceania. Some of these clearly
represent marine turtles (e.g., Wingert, 1953: 73), but a thorough review of these
voluminous materials is beyond the scope of the present chapter. (See also Molina,
1981.)
1.3.1 CULTURAL ARTIFACTS OF MARINE TURTLES IN ARABIA, THE
MIDDLE EAST, AND THE MEDITERRANEAN
Engraved cylinders, or seals, are known from a variety of sites in Mesopotamia and
neighboring areas. One such seal from the nineteenth-century collections of Layard,
attributed to the Mesopotamian site of Nimrod (or “Nimroud”), depicts a large turtle
with a large bird, before a human figure (Layard, 1853: 604). The chelonian is
thought to be a marine turtle (Albenda, 1983: 27), and the relatively large size of
the flippers is consistent with this interpretation.
Seals and seal impressions that include motifs of turtles have been recorded at
Saar, Bahrain, and dated to 2000–1900 B.C.E., the early Dilmun period. A stamp seal
found in a grave at Hamad Town (Figure 1.2) depicts a fishing scene in which two
people are standing in a boat, one of whom is apparently lifting (or spearing) a turtle
with large flippers, using a pole (or possibly a gaff or harpoon) of some sort (Vine,
1993: 53). At least three other seals from Saar include chelonians, and in two of
these the animals clearly appear to have flippers; either one or both of these may
represent a marine turtle. In one case the turtle accompanies an erotic scene (Figure 1.3), but erotic depictions on Dilmun seals are not unusual, so the significance
of the turtle is unclear (Killick, in litt., 13 February 2002).
1123_C01.fm Page 19 Friday, November 15, 2002 11:13 AM