Gazelle Head Stamp Seal

Iraq: Tell Agrab; Jamdat Nasr/Early Dynastic I, ca. 3100-2750 B.C. Gypsum (?). Excavated by the Oriental Institute, 1935-6. "In central and southern Mesopotamia, both stamp and cylinder seals appeared together near the end of the third millennium B.C. Many stamp seals were carved in the form of an animal or an animal head, and the sealing surface was decorated with simple designs - often representing animals - comprised of drill-holes and incised lines. It is possible that many of the stamps were not actually used as seals but were worn primarily as amulets."