Seals and Sealings

The paper outlines a work-in-progress to develop an archaeological approach to the historical reconstruction of sealing in the southern oceans. It indicates the topics such a work might include, and provides a brief example of how historical sources and archaeological evidence can be combined to understand better the experience of sealing in the 19 th century. Drawing on first-hand accounts of sealing and the evidence from 30 years of archaeological research in the region, it looks at the logistics of landing on sealing beaches, the building of shelters, food, cooking and eating equipment, clothing and pastimes.

From the Early Bronze Age (EBA) Aegean, balance weights are known so far only from two sites in the north-east, from Troy and from Poliochni (Phase Yellow). These weights look very similar to sling-bullets/sling-shots, and they are therefore called sphendonoid weights. Might we not expect to find balance weights also in the southern Aegean, in this age of emerging complexity and the first extensive use of metals, in this so-called “Period of the Corridorhouses” of the later EH II on the mainland?
Typical for Early Bronze Age II on the southern Mainland and the Cyclades are spool-shaped or cylindrical, neatly made objects with polished surfaces. Often they are made from an attractive stone, such as marble, jasper or breccia, but also from spondylus. In this paper I am presenting evidence strongly suggesting that these objects are in fact balance weights: I will therefore refer to them as spool-shaped weights.

The first part of the book presents archaeological evidence from the Prehistoric Aegean and onward, which demonstrates the existence of an enduring, highly valued and advanced prehistoric Aegean apiculture. Some well known ceramic vessels from Knossos "palace" are identified here for the first time with beekeeping paraphernalia thus proving the existence of a systematic Minoan apiculture. In the second part, an alternative view is proposed for some of the most important scenes on Minoan and Mycenaean gold rings, seals, and clay sealings that have led Evans, Nilsson, and many others over the past century to various speculations regarding the nature of the Prehistoric Aegean religion. By applying a naturalistic context of interpretation on the depicted scenes, apiculture paraphernalia and practices are recognized, instead of the religious symbols of the "sacred tree", "flying gods", "baetyls and birds epiphany of deities", "great goddess", "horns of consecration", "altars", "temenos" and "double axes".
The authors conclude that established ideas about the prehistoric Aegean religion should be reconsidered, thus creating significant challenges for future research."

The focus of this paper is to present a new methodology that examines Cretan Hieroglyphic seals from both epigraphic and glyptic standpoints to be understood as parts of an integrated and multimodal system of communication. As our premise, we consider the newly published material from Myrtos-Pyrgos (Ferrara, Weingarten, Cadogan, 2016), and then compare and contrast local trends impacting the presence and use of inscribed seals from reasonably well provenanced Middle Minoan contexts in the East of the island. The goals are : 1) to throw light on the cultural significance of the administrative and  functions played by Hieroglyphic seals and seal impressions ; and 2) to gain a synoptic appreciation of the
emergence and use of this relatively short-lived writing system.

Despite much intensive archaeological fieldwork, several regions of Greece
still have not yielded any evidence for palatial structures. It may be, therefore,
that they never gave rise to full palatial states. Rather, in regions such as
Achaia, local elites may have functioned within less-articulated organizational
orders (perhaps chiefdoms), which did not require the centralization of
economic activities. These polities existed alongside the more complex palatial
states, but it is not necessary to posit that they were subjected to or dependent
on the palaces economically or politically, although their opportunities may
have been constricted by the presence of the larger power. After the collapse
of the palatial system around 1200 b.c., some of these smaller polities seem
to have flourished in the LH IIIC period.

This contribution provides an overview of the iconographic evidence from Pharaonic Egypt relative to seals and sealings, dating from the Old to the New Kingdoms. Images in which certain objects such as vessels are sealed, scenes in which cylindrical seals or signet rings are made, worn, or issued, or depictions in which mud seals are broken (i. e. unsealed), are discussed to not only understand different uses and practices of seals and sealings, but also to identify which persons perform the sealing or unsealing acts in which contexts of action and social set- tings. Material and textual evidence is also considered to better understand the spe- cific characteristics of the imagery. The main aim of the paper is first to assess the individual social contexts and agents represented and related to seals and sealings. The focus is thus less on administrative uses of seals, but, secondly, on the icono- graphic discourse within Pharaonic Egypt and the visual representation of the ‘seals & sealings’ topic. Therefore, this contribution is mainly concerned with vi- sual culture and its capacity of – and approach in – depicting certain images that elucidate the iconographic mise-en-scène and construction of this topic.

In this introduction, the scene is set for understanding seals and sealings in the framework of ‘cultural techniques.’ After an initial discussion of the agency and hybridity of seals and of the practices and cultural concepts involved in the acts of sealing, the focus is shifted to the conceptual basis for the term ‘cultural technique’, which implies the mutual interaction of artefacts and signs in human practices. The topic ‘seals and sealings’ is then discussed against this conceptual backdrop: seals and sealings represent a ‘cultural technique’ throughout the ages and across regions. The chapter is concluded by short overviews of the papers published in the present volume.

SUMMARY: Lecture 4 examines the Chalcolithic period in Anatolia, including trends, with more focus on Southeast Anatolia. This lecture is designed mainly as an educational resource for college students (i.e., normally posted only on my institution's course website), the public (e.g., people auditing my course), and interested colleagues from other disciplines (to whom I provide copies privately).  I am posting it here, both as a broader access, educational tool, and especially to promote the study of this region and its past societies.  For further knowledge about this region and period, I refer interested parties to the textbooks and other sources from which the materials were extracted (see syllabus), and/or the bibliographies in these works and my online resource guides (see other files in my academia folders).  The lecture summarizes the pertinent materials in the course textbook(s), adding in other data, and furnishing numerous images to clarify information encountered within the textbook(s).  Some generic imagery (usually indicated as such) is posted to aid in transmitting various concepts visually, and/or when a specific image remains not located (temporarily).  I update and revise such lectures each time, with such elective courses normally being taught once every two years.  I try to cover the most current, mainstream views, and usually place summary notes at the end of each lecture alongside some of the key sources used for compiling the ppt.  Over time, each lecture is improved, errors rectified, and additional data placed within the lecture.  These ppt. lectures take many hours to compile, but they have proved useful to many of my more serious students and I hope they can be of benefit to others as well.  My apologies for any errors I may have made, and my liberal usage of educational imagery from professional sources and vetted internet sources. REVISED: Jan. 2024: More images, new slides and text, and selected sources,

Sealing has been an industry in the North Atlantic and Arctic seas since at least 1593. Initially the profits from sealing were far less than those gained from whaling, and the sealing industry remained a minor, if locally important, activity for many communities. Sealing became better established as a global industry from the late 18th century onwards as it expanded into the South Atlantic and the Southern Ocean, and the paper focuses on the relationship between explorers' reports of new discoveries and the role of sealers in the official and unofficial charting of the islands of the southern oceans and in the independent search for new sealing grounds.

There is a growing body of seal impressions from various sites on Bahrain and Failaka. The available evidence from the City IIb-c period indicates that sealing practices were not limited to a small, privileged section of Dilmun society. Moreover, in both institutional and domestic settings broken sealings have been found that were stored and kept for some time before being discarded, often in discrete batches, which suggests the existence of a widely-adopted accounting system. Stratigraphical and spatial distribution of sealings, especially in combination with the designs of the seals that are imprinted on them, are important indicators of the level of connectivity and the place of these households within Early Dilmun’s social fabric. This paper discusses some of their implications for our understanding of Dilmun’s socio-economic structure and organisation.

Keywords: Dilmun, Bronze Age, seals and seal impressions, archival practices, socio-economic complexity

Conclusions drawn from the archaeology of settlements and domestic buildings have played a pivotal role in interpreting social and administrative processes of Middle Kingdom Egypt.  This is especially true for the late Twelfth Dynasty.  Studies of this period have approached these topics mostly from the top-down vantage points of state agendas and globally defined social structures.  Consequently, the late Middle Kingdom is frequently characterized as a time of intensive state control, from the highest royal offices down to the town and even household levels, a view reinforced by a dramatic expansion of administrative offices and titles in the historical record.  Per this model, elite households in state-established settlements could act as nodes of a national regulatory system, particularly with respect to subsistence infrastructure.  When the late Twelfth Dynasty pharaoh Senwosret III established a royal tomb and mortuary temple at South Abydos, he also provided local personnel with a newly founded, formally planned town that exemplifies several of the late Middle Kingdom trends identified above.  Both the royal mortuary institution and the town itself carry the abbreviated name of Wah-sut (short for Wah-sut-Khakaure-maa-kheru-m-Abdju, “Enduring-are-the-Places-of-Khakaure-True-of-Voice-in-Abydos”).  Archaeological investigation has been undertaken at Wah-sut by the Pennsylvania-Yale-Institute of Fine Arts, NYU Expedition to Abydos since 1994. 
This paper applies the concept of “house societies” to this state-sponsored town with emphasis on the bottom-up perspectives of individual houses, especially the structure known as Building E (excavated by the author).  This approach highlights aspects of the material record that reflect facets of household identities that, like the king’s mortuary institution, were intended to be perpetuated across multiple generations of household membership.  Special attention is devoted to distinguishing “extroverted” versus “introverted” expressions of identity, as well as the extent to which Wah-sut’s institutional character influenced each.  This household perspective may then be gauged against contemporary archaeological and textual records.  The results provide insight into the dynamics between such “hybrid households” – domestically oriented groups situated in an overtly institutionalized setting – and the broader social and economic milieus with which they interacted.

Chapter 2 of "Rotationskolben-Verbrennungsmotoren"
by Wolff-Dieter Bensinger, 1973
Pages 3 - 46

66 pages, English + German versions

This text explains how gas seals in ICE (internal combustion engines) do really work.

Content ...
German version Page in PDF file
2.1 Festlegung der Begriffe 3
2.2 Versuchsaufbau 5
2.3 Beschreibung der Versuche 6
2.31 Abdichtversuche unmittelbar abgedichteter Maschinenteile 6
2.32 Abdichtversuche mit Dichtkoerpern 16
2.33 Dichtleiste + Kolbenring 24
2.34 Dichtgrenze 32

English version
2.1 Definition of terms 46
2.2 Experimental setup 47
2.3 Description of the tests 48
2.31 Sealing tests of directly sealed machine parts 48
2.32 Sealing tests with sealing elements 52
2.33 Sealing strip + piston ring 56
2.34 Sealing lines 60

german keywords: Wankelmotor / Kreiskolbenmotor
English Keywords: Wankel Engine / Wankel Rotary Engine / Rotary Piston Engine / Rotary Combustion Engine

Ios was little explored in the past. The sole excavation made there before the 1980s was by the Belgian archaeologist Graindor in 1904. In the early 1980s, under the pressure of the development of tourism, the Ephorate of Antiquities for the Cyclades began rescue excavations in the area of the ancient city (Archaia Polis), which coincides with the site of the main village, Chora. While present on the island for these excavations we were stimulated to investigate it further, which led to the identification of a large number of hitherto unknown sites of all periods. Ios was evidently particularly important in the prehistoric era. In addition to the Early Cycladic cemeteries, several Early Cycladic settlements were also located, which is highly significant since very few such settlements are known from other islands. The continuity of habitation during the Middle and Late Bronze Age was also ascertained. Excavations and other investigations have also enriched our knowledge of Ios in historical times, both of the ancient city and the city-state.

The wealth of material from the large, well-preserved Early Cycladic settlement at Skarkos kindled interest in organizing an exhibition that would shed light on the economic and social structures of the Aegean communities in which Cycladic Culture developed during the 3rd millennium BC. Because of the dearth, hitherto, of information from settlements, research on this Culture has concentrated mainly on studying the funerary goods from Early Cycladic graves (especially marble figurines and vases) as works of high art, an approach which has been much criticized recently. This approach has also influenced the way in which Cycladic artefacts have been exhibited, to date. The new museum in Ios gave us the opportunity of considering other aspects of this Culture and of adopting a more global approach to it. The exhibition of objects from the historical period is guided by the same principle; the combination of the rich epigraphic material, mainly from the Hellenistic period, with recent excavation evidence, permits, among other things, the enhancement of such sectors as government, institutions, the economy and society.

The museum is housed in the Amoiradakeion Megaron, one of the five neoclassical buildings in Chora, which is otherwise distinguished by its traditional vernacular architecture. The Amoiradakeion was built in the early twentieth century as the residence of the Amoiradakis family, which had close ties with the Greek community in Egypt; it is a two-storey mansion in its own grounds. A marble-paved path led from the gateway, crowned by a pedimented architrave, to the front door. During the 1960s, when the road linking Yalo with Mylopota was laid, part of the path was destroyed, cutting the house off from its surroundings. Later repairs and renovations, primarily the removal of the monumental staircase between the two floors, which thus became completely independent, radically altered its interior. Despite these changes, however, the Amoiradakeion still retains its former grandeur.

Interventions were made by the the KA' Ephorate of Antiquities to the ground floor of the mansion in order to convert it into premises suitable for a museum. It was arranged to accommodate four ¬exhibition rooms¬ (¬1-4¬), occupying its central and east part, and three ¬activity rooms¬ (¬5-7¬), occupying its west part.

Each of the four exhibition rooms houses a thematic unit, presenting the ¬natural environment and the history of research¬, the ¬pronounced presence of Ios in the Early Cycladic world¬, the developments during the ¬Middle and Late Bronze Age¬, and the¬ course of Ios in Historical Times¬. The organization of the exhibition was determined by the special nature of the antiquities of Ios. The largest room in the building, Room 1, was chosen for the display of the important Early Bronze Age finds, which come mainly from the site of Skarkos. The small room next to it, Room 2, houses just a few artefacts of the Middle and Late Bronze Age. Pieces from historical times can be seen in rooms 3 and 4. The most significant of these, the sculptures from the ancient city of Ios, are shown to advantage in the lovely room 4, the second largest in the building.

The explanatory material (texts, information panels, plans, photographs) and publications (information leaflets, archaeological guidebook) aim to cover both the scientific and the educational role of the museum. It is hoped that the Ios Museum, with this dual character, its permanent exhibitions and the events organized in its activity rooms, will function as a living organism -- for all its small scale --, offering specialist scholars the opportunity of studying the material while at the same time appealing to the general public.

This book is not a museum guide in the usual sense, presenting the exhibits individually and assessing their archaeological and artistic merit. It narrates concisely developments on Ios from the Early Bronze Age until Late Antiquity, utilizing the museum exhibits to vivify this course in time, following the thematic units and sub-units. We thus hope that when visitor leaves the museum he/she have acquired some degree of knowledge about Ios in Antiquity.

Towards the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX century, in the context of a period of expansion on the part of European nations and the nascent North American republic, the commercial hunting of fur seals began to develop, and in this sense, the southern end of America became one of the main areas of their incursions. This work seeks to contribute to know more background regarding the presence of this group of navigators, in relation to the sustained interaction with the austral aborigines, as well as, regarding hunting activities. The study is based on unpublished documents, specifically American sealing ship logs.

It is hypothesized that this commercial activity was much more than a transitory wandering dedicated to obtaining and collecting skins for distant markets, on the contrary, fur-seal hunters established a close relationship with the aborigines who populated these territories, in addition to generating a gradual process of familiarization with geography.

Theran LC I white-coated vases are distinctive for their special pictorial decoration. In their representations cultivated plants, such as barley, vetches, grapes etc., and vases depictions, such as the nippled ewer, are combined. Although such combinations of motifs find no parallel in the Aegean pottery decoration, a number of similar depictions (plants with vases) occur in a group of Minoan seals, the so-called talismanic seals, manufactured from MM III to LM IB period.
It seems possible that Theran vase-painters adopted the iconography of the Minoan talismanic seals imported to the island or arrived there with their owners, adapting it to the local conditions. Transfering the motif of the jug from the talismanic seals to their vases they transformed it into a nippled ewer, probably because that was the jug type Therans used for libations in rites associated with the promotion of vegetation.
What were, however, the reasons behind this artistic behaviour? The ideological background for the Minoan talismanic seals and the Theran White-coated vases decoration must have been common. The ideological background of the former is considered to be the need for a rustic cult in the agricultural Minoan Crete. The need for a rustic cult in the Bronze Age Thera appears to be quite strong as well. The cultivations of vetches, barley and vine, which are reflected in the pottery decoration and confirmed by the palaeobotanical evidence from Akrotiri, consist to be the main cultivations on Thera up today. The importance of rural economy to both the inhabitants of prehistoric Thera and Crete was the common denominator for the performance of rustic cult. Theran artists adopted the iconography of rustic cult from the Minoan talismanic seals because this cult was very important for Thera as well.

Archaeological excavations undertaken between 1877 and 2002 at the “Garrison” at Björkö in Lake Mälaren have produced, among a wealth of other artefacts, 41 padlocks of a type common to the whole Norse cultural sphere.
This paper centres on the construction of these padlocks and suggests a possible method for making them by one-piece soldering. It also presents a more symbolic view of this artefact type often looked upon as merely functional, as a
marker of power.

From Skarkos to Poliochni: observations on the socio-economic development of the EBA settlements in the Cyclades and the islands of the Northeast Aegean

On the basis of the most recent excavation data from the Cyclades and the islands of the Northeast Aegean, a comparative study between the settlements of the two regions during the EBA is attempted. The aim of the study is to understand better the similarities and differences at the level of material culture and, by extension, at the level of socio-economic organization, between the two areas. Skarkos on Ios and Poliochni on Limnos are used as representative examples for the Cyclades and the islands of the Northeast Aegean respectively, and, where necessary evidence from other settlements are included as well. At Skarkos only one phase of habitation, corresponding chronologically to the end of the Keros-Syros group period, has been confirmed by excavation to date. At Poliochni, the phases of occupation start from the Neolithic era, span the whole of the EBA and continue to the later periods.

The size of Skarkos is estimated at approx. 1.1 hectares, whereas the extent of Poliochni Green and Red (periods III-IV) is estimated at approx. 1.385 hectares and that of Poliochni Yellow (period V) at approx. 1.5 hectares. Consequently, Poliochni was approx. some 0.3 to 0.4 hectares larger than Skarkos. However, this does not necessarily imply that the population of Poliochni was proportionately larger than that of Skarkos, because Poliochni consisted of one-storey buildings.

The level of town planning appears to be equal at Skarkos and Poliochni. The adaptation of the town plan to the geomorphology, specifically the low hill on which each settlement was built, is excellent. There is also a correspondence in the separation of areas of private and common use in both sites. Recent research at the settlement of Markiani on Amorgos has shown that there were walled settlements in the Cyclades already from the Keros-Syros group period and possibly from the earlier Grotta-Pelos group period. The latter corresponds partly to Poliochni period II (Poliochni Blue period) during which the walls of the town were erected. At Poliochni there were communal wells for drawing water, whereas in the Cycladic settlements the source of drinking water was outside the site, as the evidence from Ayia Irini on Keos demonstrates. Both Poliochni and some Cycladic settlements, such as Ayia Irini on Keos and Markiani on Amorgos, featured drainage systems for rainwater.

Skarkos and Poliochni both developed in an agglomerative manner, yet the different geomorphology of the heights on which they were built and the different architectural tradition resulted in: two-storey buildings with independent external walls at Skarkos and one-storey buildings with common external walls with the neighbouring buildings at Poliochni. At both sites, some of the buildings are larger and more complex than others, a feature indicating social stratification. The houses in both settlements are otherwise similar in architectural arrangement and basic functions. The courtyards were used, apart from their other functions, as cooking areas at Skarkos on Ios, Kastri on Syros and Emborio on Chios.

Certain similarities between the artefacts of Skarkos and Poliochni are present as well. Large barrel-shaped pithoi for the storage of goods and ellipsoidal stone querns for the grinding of cereals were common in both settlements. Clay spoons, disk-shaped objects made of potsherds, simple or pierced, bone tubes and pointed tools are included in the household equipment at both sites. Finally, in both settlements a statement of ownership or personal identity was necessary, as the seals found at Poliochni and the seal-impressed rectangular clay objects excavated at Skarkos reveal.

The paper " Porträtsiegel in Kallipolis. Einige methodologische Bemerkungen " was my communication to the International Congress „Archivi e sigilli nel mondo ellenistico“ (Torino, 13 – 16 gennaio 1993) and has been published in  Acts: BCH Suppl. 29 (1996) 185 – 194, plates 38 - 39.

Ελληνική περίληψις
Σφραγιστικά πορτραίτα στην αιτωλική Καλλίπολι
  Το πρόβλημα της ταυτίσεως των σφραγιστικών πορτραίτων στο αρχείο της αιτωλικής Καλλιπόλεως, αλλά και κατ΄ επέκτασι στα λοιπά αρχεία σφραγισμάτων που έχουν αποκαλυφθεί έως σήμερα, παρουσιάζει και ομοιότητες, αλλά και διαφορές προς το αντίστοιχο πρόβλημα που υπάρχει στα πορτραίτα σε περίοπτα γλυπτά ή σε ανάγλυφα.  Προς τούτο είναι αναγκαίο να επισκοπήσωμε κάποια προβλήματα εντός του είδους.
  Το πρώτο πρόβλημα που τίθεται στα σφραγίσματα είναι εκείνο της διατηρήσεώς τους, πρόβλημα που καθίσταται εμφανές σε πορτραίτα από την ίδια σφραγίδα, τα οποία έχουν διατηρηθεί σε περισσότερα σφραγίσματα (π.χ. αρ.274, Βερενίκη Β΄). Ωστόσο η διατήρησις σε περισσότερα σφραγίσματα μπορεί να διευκολύνη την σχεδιαστική αποκατάστασι του πρωτοτύπου.
  Το δεύτερο πρόβλημα είναι γενικώτερο: βασιλικό ή ιδιωτικό πορτραίτο; Το πρόβλημα αυτό είναι γενικώτερο στα σωζόμενα ελληνιστικά πορτραίτα, και βεβαίως παρουσιάζεται με ιδιαίτερη οξύτητα στις λοιπές εκφάνσεις της τέχνης εκτός των νομισμάτων. Εάν ένα διακριτικό γνώρισμα – κυρίως το διάδημα – είναι ορατό, το πρόβλημα λύεται ευκόλως. Εάν όμως μία ανδρική κεφαλή φορεί καυσία, ή το άνω ή οπίσθιο μέρος της κεφαλής δεν διασώζεται, η ταύτισις δεν θεωρείται ως βεβαία, έστω και εάν παρουσιάζεται ισχυρά ομοιότης προς τα φυσιογνωμικά χαρακτηριστικά ενός γνωστού πορτραίτου.
  Το τρίτο πρόβλημα είναι εκείνο της «ομοιότητος» του πορτραίτου σε σφράγισμα προς γνωστά και ταυτισμένα νομισματικά πορτραίτα, μέσα στα ευρέα πλαίσια φυσιογνωμικής ομοιότητος, την οποία ο ελληνιστικός βασιλεύς ( ή οι επιφορτισμένοι με την εποπτεία του νομισματοκοπείου του ) υποδεικνύει εκάστοτε ή θεωρεί επιθυμητή.
Το τέταρτο, και δυσκολώτερο, πρόβλημα είναι τα επιτρεπτά όρια ταυτίσεων τόσον των βασιλικών πορτραίτων που δεν έχουν παραδοθεί σε νομίσματα ή άλλα ασφαλώς ταυτιζόμενα έργα τέχνης, όσον και των ιδιωτικών πορτραίτων σε σφραγίσματα, για τα οποία ουδέν άλλο διαθέτομε πέραν του χρονικού και ιστορικού πλαισίου, το οποίο προκύπτει, όπως στην περίπτωσι της αιτωλικής Καλλιπόλεως. Στις περιπτώσεις αυτές δεν είναι μεθοδολογικώς αποτρεπτικό να προταθούν κάποιες ονοματίσεις που εμφανίζονται ως πιθανές ή δυνατές. Αυτές θα αποδειχθούν ενδεχομένως, εάν νέο υλικό στο μέλλον υποδεικνύει προς την ίδια κατεύθυνσι.
  Ένα τελευταίο πρόβλημα στο αρχείο της αιτωλικής Καλλιπόλεως αφορά σε κάποια ρεαλιστικά σφραγιστικά πορτραίτα, τα οποία ανήκουν στους χρόνους μεταξύ του νομίσματος με το πορτραίτο του Φλαμινίνου και τα ρωμαϊκά πορτραίτα της Δήλου. Η ομάδα αυτή των σφραγισμάτων παρουσιάζει ιδιαίτερο ενδιαφέρον, διότι έχει ένα terminus ante quem στα μέσα του 2ου αι. π.Χ.

Στα κιvητά ευρήματα του Πρωτοκυκλαδικού οικισμού του Σκάρκου της Ίου συμπεριλαμβάvεται εvας τύπoς oρθoγώvιoυ παραλληλεπίπεδoυ αvτικειμέvoυ πoυ παρoυσιάζει ιδιαίτερo εvδιαφέρov, κυρίως επειδή ορισμένα δείγματά τoυ φέρoυv απoτυπώματα σφραγίδωv.
Πρόκειται για παραλληλεπίπεδα αvτικείμεvα με δύo διαμπερείς oπές κατά μήκoς δύo παραλλήλωv ακμώv της μιας πλατυμέτωπης πλευράς τoυς. Οι γωνίες και οι ακμές ορισμένων είναι στρογγυλεμένες. Ορισμέvα φέρoυv κάπoιo εγχάρακτo σύμβολο, όπως είvαι τo Χ ή oι λoξές παράλληλες γραμμές, σε μία πλατυμέτωπη ή σε μία στενομέτωπη πλευρά. Τέλος έξι μεγάλου μεγέθους έχoυv έvα κυκλικό ή ελαφρά ελλειψοειδές σφράγισμα στo κέvτρo της μιας πλατυμέτωπης πλευράς.
Τα έξι σφραγίσματα είvαι διαφoρετικά τo έvα από τo άλλo και υπoδεικvύoυv αvτίστoιχo αριθμό σφραγίδωv. Τα θέματά τoυς είναι σταυρoειδή, σπειρoειδή, στροβιλορόδακες και συνθέσεις με κυκλικά δισκία. Παρατηρείται ποικιλία ως προς τις συνθέσεις. Αλλες χαρακτηρίζονται από στατικότητα και άλλες από κινητικότητα, άλλες από συμμετρία, περισσότερο ή λιγότερο αυστηρή και άλλες από ασυμμετρία και εντελώς διαφορετικά κοσμήματα και οργάνωση των δύο ημίσεων της κυκλικής επιφάνειας. Ορισμένα από τα σφραγίσματα του Σκάρκου βρίσκουν παράλληλα ως προς τα θέματα ή τη σύνθεση στα σφραγίσματα του σπηλαίου του Ζα στη γειτονική Νάξο, στα ενσφράγιστα αγγεία και εστίες της Αγίας Ειρήνης στην Κέα αλλά και στα σφραγίσματα της Λέρvας και θέσεων της Μ. Ασίας.
Η χρήση των υπό συζήτηση παραλληλεπίπεδων πήλινων αντικειμένων δεν έχει αποσαφηνιστεί ακόμη. Συνήθως χαρακτηρίζονται υφαντικά βάρη αν και η σπανιότητά τους έχει κάνει ορισμένους ερευνητές να υποθέσουν ότι δεν μπορεί να είχαν τη χρήση αυτή. Η διατυπωθείσα άποψη από την Weingarten ότι ήταν κλείθρα σάκων κινείται κατά τη γνώμη μας προς την ορθή κατεύθυνση. Η πρoς τα κάτω κλίση πoυ παρoυσιάζoυv oι διαμπερείς oπές ορισμένων παραληλλεπίπεδων αvτικειμέvωv του Σκάρκου στα άκρα τoυς θα μπoρoύσαv vα σημαίvoυv ότι αυτά ήταv πρoσδεδεμέvα επάvω σε κάπoιo άλλo αvτικείμεvo με έναν ιδιαίτερο τρόπο με vήματα πoυ περvoύσαv από τις oπές.
Τα ενσφράγιστα παραλληλεπίπεδα αντικείμενα από τον οικισμό του Σκάρκου της Ιου, αν συνυπολογιστούν με τα ενσφραγιστα πήλινα αγγεία και εστίες από την Αγία Ειρήνη της Κέας, τη Χαλανδριανή και το Καστρί της Σύρου, και τη Μύκονο, αλλά κυρίως με τα σφραγίσματα του Σπηλαίου του Ζα στη Νάξο, οδηγούν στο συμπέρασμα ότι οι σφραγίδες χρησιμοποιούνταν στις Κυκλάδες της Πρώιμης Εποχής του Χαλκού μέσα στα πλαίσια ενός συστήματος σήμανσης, το οποίο δεv μπoρεί παρά vα απηχεί κάπoια μoρφή σύvθετης κoιvωvικής και oικovoμικής oργάvωσης.

Sealers in the southern oceans around Antarctica in the nineteenth century had several strategies for gathering seal skins and oil. Where seals were abundant and a long period ashore was required to exploit them, a stone shelter was often constructed or a cave was occupied. Where fewer seals were seen, and where accessible beaches were very small, sealers went ashore by whale boat and slept under the upturned boat for the short period needed to kill the seals. Living under upturned boats was also practiced by crews of wrecked sealing ships, as short-term shelter and when travelling to secure food or other resources to survive. The paper looks at the background of this strategy, the historical sources describing it and the experiences of the sealers involved, and using models hypothesises what the archaeological evidence of boat camps might look like. Two archaeological sites in the South Shetland Islands are described that might be boat camps, based on this hypothesis, and further survey for boat camp sites is foreshadowed

The fur seal population of the South Shetland Islands was intensively hunted by sealers from the discovery of the islands in 1819 through the early years of the 1820s, by which time the seal numbers were so depleted that sealing became uneconomic.  Sealing was revived for both fur seals and Elephant seals at several periods later in the century.  Sealers were put ashore in gangs and built makeshift shelters in which to live.  Many of these have been identified on the South Shetlands, and a number have been excavated, though few with archaeological method.  Fifty known sites are identified.  The paper outlines the survey and excavation of two sites on Rugged Island by archaeologists from Australia and Chilean National Natural History Museum.  One site relates to the 1820s sealing era, while the second may be associated with a marooned sealing gang in the 1870s.  The nature of the occupation sites on the South Shetlands is analysed in relation to the social and operational context of the merchant navies of Britain and the USA in the nineteenth century, which is seen as a more directly relevant context for assessing physical evidence than applying theories of global capitalist systems.

The first convict colony in the south Pacific was not British but Spanish, and it occurred three decades prior to Sydney. This brief paper places the penal colony on the island of Mas a'Tierra in the context of Spanish initiatives to stall Britain's expansion in the Pacific Ocean.

This paper looks at a possible connection between interlace motifs
seals and the burgeoning bureaucracy at protopalatial Phaistos and
Knossos. We first discuss an old find from Knossos (I), a seal
impression which has never been properly published. This will lead
us on a roundabout trek from north to south and back again to
Knossos. where we describe a new Hieroglyphic seal impression (II)
which, mirabile dictu, is from a well-dated context.

In this paper, we present a series of novel antecedents that concern two hunting incursions, dedicated to the hunting of fur seals (fur sealing), which carried out their activities near the coasts of Chile and Peru. It is suggested that the presence of these American crews is part of the process of exploitation of nature and territorial appropriation of the American coasts. Methodologically, this study analyses two unpublished documentary sources through the lens of micro-history: the logs of the brigantine Alabama Packet (1819-1824) and of the barkentine Penguin (1829-1831). This paper aims at evidencing the various motives behind these hunting incursions: commercial, exploratory and scientific.

Despite much intensive archaeological fieldwork, several regions of Greece still have not yielded any evidence for palatial structures. It may be, therefore, that they never gave rise to full palatial states. Rather, in regions such as Achaia, local elites may have functioned within less-articulated organizational orders (perhaps chiefdoms), which did not require the centralization of economic activities. These polities existed alongside the more complex palatial states, but it is not necessary to posit that they were subjected to or dependent on the palaces economically or politically, although their opportunities may have been constricted by the presence of the larger power. After the collapse of the palatial system around 1200 b.c., some of these smaller polities seem to have flourished in the LH IIIC period.

Greenpeace’s early work in the anti-sealing movement in the 1970s-1980s is a complex legacy for the organisation to navigate. Recognising the controversial track-record of its role in the anti-sealing movement, Greenpeace Canada apologised to Canadian Inuit in 2014. This paper outlines a case for Greenpeace to continue its path of reconciliation for activities undertaken during the anti-sealing movement and apologize to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Particularly the paper calls for an apology to sealers, their families and communities and to First Nations and Inuit people from the province for Greenpeace’s role in inflicting and promoting forms of violence, stigma and cultural hatred and undermining Indigenous rights in the province.