Beschreibung:
AbstractCan texts explain all iconography? When seeking to explain images, can we use texts that are not contemporary with them? Ethnoarchaeology makes use of data from more distant periods and countries, but we must bear in mind the conservatism of Mesopotamian representations. Can texts be used to explain both “popular” and “official” iconography? Some answers are provided by a mould-made clay model excavated at Isin that depicts a deity with a bovine face in a doorway. It fits into a series of representations of gates associated with deities, and is one of a limited number depicting a deity with a bovine head.