Mace in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Ancient Near East

Abstract

Abstract In recent years it has become apparent that the mace, one of the most important weapons and ceremonial artefacts in the Ancient Near East, first appeared in the tenth millennium BCE, during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A. Given the considerable importance of this new evidence for understanding the role and status of the mace in the Ancient Near East, it is timely to present the state of the research that has recently emerged from sites in Anatolia, Mesopotamia and Jordan. This paper has three aims: 1) to chart the chronological and geographical distribution of mace-heads in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic; 2) to define as far as possible the typological characteristics of mace-heads, taking into account their morphology, raw materials, measurements and weight; and 3) to understand the intended function of mace-heads in light of the archaeological contexts in which they were discovered.