As early as the 7th millennium BC, cultures in the Near East began to create organised settlements with well-developed religious and funerary practices. The Halaf culture of Anatolia and Northern Mesopotamia, named after the Tell Halaf site, is one example of such sophisticated early cultures. The Halaf culture flourished during the 6th millennium BC and was notable for its enormous variety of stamp seals and amulets, such as this fine example, alongside sophisticated ceramic productions including intricately painted pottery and remarkable female figurines.
Insects are the subject of some of the earliest art and amuletic jewellery throughout the Western Asiatic region. Flies, butterflies and dragonflies are prevalent throughout Mesopotamian culture and are thought to have been associated with fertility, rebirth and rejuvenation: they accompany the fertility goddess Inanna in one ancient poem, and the Epic of Gilgamesh emphasises the brevity, and thus significance, of human life through a dragonfly.
