Human–Animal Encounters on Early Iron Age Stamp Seals

Human-animal relations are manifested in encounters that range from confrontation and subjugation to harmonious coexistence. For thousands of years, these encounters have triggered diverse associations that at times have been materialized into visual languages that, despite spatial and chronological particularities, share scenes and protagonists. This essay deals with the depictions of these animals and scenes on early Iron Age stamp seals from the southern Levant. It provides an overview of three typical scenes: figure atop an animal, figure confronting an animal, and figure alongside an animal. Four animals are depicted: the lion, the bull, the ibex, and the ostrich. At the same time, the Iron Age was the last phase of such iconography after millennia of development. During the Iron Age IIB, additional images became popular and widespread, and the animal encounters lost their importance on the local stamp seals.