Layers of Meaning: Iconicity Patterns in Anatolian Hieroglyphic Inscriptions

This article considers iconicity patterns in the Anatolian Hieroglyphic (AH) script, a native writing system used in Anatolia and Northern Syria, i.e. the territory of the Hittite Empire and her successor states. During the Bronze Age, the script was used next to cuneiform, and survives mainly on monumental stone objects and rock faces, on seals and, rarely, on lead strips or other portable objects. This means that the majority of its presumed ordinary usage does not survive. However, for the question of iconicity patterns, the surviving corpus of monumental inscriptions is particularly representative, as one might reasonably expect that such inscriptions would have more fully explored the iconic potential offered by the hieroglyphic script than writing for non-representational purposes.