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Stamp seal

A reference page linking a name, group, or concept to the materials that discuss it.

A carved surface pressed into soft material to leave an impression that may distinguish a person, object or procedure. Unlike a rolled cylinder seal; imagery alone makes it neither writing nor evidence of a creed.

Ubaid stamp seal and modern impression; Syria or Anatolia, sixth–fifth millennium BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984.175.13. The rectangular block on the right is a modern impression, not an ancient tablet
Ubaid stamp seal and modern impression; Syria or Anatolia, sixth–fifth millennium BCE. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984.175.13. The rectangular block on the right is a modern impression, not an ancient tabletThe Metropolitan Museum of Art — Bequest of Lester Wolfe, 1983 · CC0Object record

Text

Tool and impression

A stamp seal makes an image by pressing, whereas a cylinder sealCylinder sealEngraved cylinder rolled over clay to produce a continuous design; used for documentation, identification and authority, without necessarily encoding language.Glossary · Click to read the explanation makes an extended design by rolling. This photograph shows a sixth–fifth-millennium BCE UbaidUbaid cultureAn archaeological designation for material traditions originating in southern Mesopotamia with regional diffusion. Broad southern frame c. 6500–3800 BCE; not a known linguistic people, with limits varying by region and phase.Glossary · Click to read the explanation seal attributed to Syria or AnatoliaAnatoliaAnatolia is the region occupying the Asian part of present-day TurkeyGlossary · Click to read the explanation, beside a modern impression, not an ancient tablet.[1]

What can we infer?

Design, findspot and traces of use help investigate function. Animal imagery does not prove animal worship, and a seal does not establish a centralized state or writing. Seals also predate the Ubaid.[1]

References and notes

  1. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Stamp seal and modern impression: horned animal and bird. Ubaid, sixth–fifth millennium BCE, Syria or Anatolia. Accession 1984.175.13. Object catalogue and Open Access data. Alternative geographical attribution; impression modern; image public domain. Animal imagery does not establish a creed. Return to the text ↑

Research history

Substantive changes are retained here. Minor copy edits remain in the internal operational log.

  1. Edition 2 · 10 October 2026 · editor:aladmin

    Substantive record update

    Read this revision in its original language (Arabic)

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Cite this record

IL Archive, «Stamp seal», Edition 2, https://ilarchive.com/en/entities/stamp-seal