Animal symbolism in Ancient Mesopotamian depiction and seal art

Animals have played an important role in the lives of human beings since the day they came into existence. Mankind initially feared animals, which he perceived as a threat to him, perceived them as a danger and then included them in his life by dominating them. This is because these creatures, which mankind first feared and then dominated over time, began to take place in his world of thought and belief. The first depictions of animals, which are the subject of symbolic thought, can be seen on cave walls in Paleolithic Period settlements. Subsequently, with the transition to settled life in the Neolithic Period, some animals were domesticated and began to take their place in every aspect of daily life. Domestic and wild animal species were considered very important in the religious and cultural life of Mesopotamian societies, which subsisted on agriculture and animal husbandry in ancient times. In the context of belief, animals, which have more than one meaning, were symbolized and depicted on the basis of their characteristic features. In Mesopotamian societies with a polytheistic religious structure, some animal species were associated with certain god-goddesses and were often depicted together with these god-goddesses. Sometimes they are even depicted alone, representing the god-goddesses they symbolize. In addition, an animal is sometimes depicted as a sacred symbol of more than one god. It is understood that this symbolic relationship, which has been depicted on archaeological finds since the Neolithic Period, was frequently depicted on stamp and cylinder seals, reliefs, kudurrus (border stones) with the beginning of historical periods. At the same time, cuneiform documents also contain information on domestic and wild animal species. As a matter of fact, in the Mesopotamians' imagination, the prominent natural and physical aspects of animals such as being fertile, wild, strong and powerful were observed, and they attributed these functions to the gods. In addition, most of the animals with symbolic characteristics had apotropaic qualities and traditionally assumed the protective mission of temples, palaces and houses. On the other hand, animals were also used in cuneiform documents as metaphors and epithets. For example, kings referred to wild and large-sized animals in order to show their strength and power. In other words, they emphasized various characteristics of the animals they owned and used these aspects in symbolic expression. At the same time, animals were frequently depicted in the depictions representing the king. Based on all these, in this study, first of all, the use of animals in the fauna of the region as symbols in Mesopotamian culture has been examined within the scope of archaeological findings and cuneiform sources, and domestic and wild species that are understood to have symbolic meaning have been tried to be evaluated in line with a basic framework according to certain symbolic features.