A Piedmont–Style Cylinder Seal From Central Anatolia: An Early Bronze Age Case From Alişar Höyük

This study aims to expand the limited archaeological evidence concerning early sealing practices in Central Anatolia by examining a piedmont–style cylinder seal recovered from Level 8M at Alişar Höyük, considering typological, technological, compositional, and contextual data. As the stratigraphic context of this specimen can be clearly established and given its dating to the final phases of the Early Bronze Age 2, it can be considered one of the earliest known cylinder seals from Central and Western Anatolia. The study analyses the seal’s production characteristics, decorative approach, and choice of raw material, comparing these features with seals from the core production regions of piedmont–style seals. While the seal reflects the fundamental principles of this tradition in terms of composition and decorative arrangement, it differs from central production examples in its use of diorite and in certain aspects of its craftsmanship, suggesting a provincial style. The Alişar seal thus provides an important point of reference for evaluating the relationship between the introduction of the cylinder seal tradition into Anatolia, production practices, and long–distance cultural interactions.