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Chapter 14 - Excursus

Scribes on Seals? The Hieroglyphic Sign L.326

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2020

Theo van den Hout
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
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Summary

The hieroglyphic sign known as L.326 and supposedly picturing a tablet has been interpreted as the title “scribe” since 1956. Given the fact that it is the most frequently attested title on seals from the Hittite kingdom this would mean that literacy was widespread among the ruling elite of the Hittite state. It is argued in an excursus that both the iconographic rendering and the interpretation as “scribe” are flawed. Instead, it is proposed to portray a seat, indicating a high status for the person carrying the symbol on his seal. First, all Late Bronze Age evidence is passed in review, then the Iron Age evidence. As a consequence, some well-known Iron Age passages need to be re-interpreted.

Type
Chapter
Information
A History of Hittite Literacy
Writing and Reading in Late Bronze-Age Anatolia (1650–1200 BC)
, pp. 341 - 374
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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  • Excursus
  • Theo van den Hout, University of Chicago
  • Book: A History of Hittite Literacy
  • Online publication: 18 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108860161.016
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  • Excursus
  • Theo van den Hout, University of Chicago
  • Book: A History of Hittite Literacy
  • Online publication: 18 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108860161.016
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Excursus
  • Theo van den Hout, University of Chicago
  • Book: A History of Hittite Literacy
  • Online publication: 18 December 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108860161.016
Available formats
×