Cretan Hieroglyphic Seals and Script : A View from the East

The focus of this paper is to present a new methodology that examines Cretan Hieroglyphic seals from both epigraphic and glyptic standpoints to be understood as parts of an integrated and multimodal system of communication. As our premise, we consider the newly published material from Myrtos- Pyrgos (Ferrara, Weingarten, Cadogan, 2016), and then compare and contrast local trends impacting the presence and use of inscribed seals from reasonably well provenanced Middle Minoan contexts in the East of the island. The goals are : 1) to throw light on the cultural significance of the administrative and symbolic functions played by Hieroglyphic seals and seal impressions ; and 2) to gain a synoptic appreciation of the emergence and use of this relatively short-lived writing system.