Script, Language, and the Making of Identities in Syro-Anatolian Communities

The Syro-Anatolian polities, and the eastern Mediterranean as a whole, were home to diverse communities speaking a number of languages and recording their messages with several writing systems. Script and language, however, were not simply modes of communication for the peoples of the Iron Age but also one element of self-expression used to construct and convey their various identities. In this paper, I will examine the evidence for communities of language within the Syro-Anatolian region demonstrated by writing not intended for public display, as well as the often contrasting monumental inscriptions employed by rulers, officials, and wealthy elites to express their chosen and constructed identities through their public messaging.

Members of the Cluster are invited to the reserved AWRC lunch table in Hall starting at 12.30 to meet Nathan.  Nathan's talk in the Florey Room at 1:15 will be catered with cake and tea/coffee (all welcome).