Deep Memory/ Clues to a deeper past
← Motif families
Across cultural traditions

Handled forms

An arch is visible. A shared object, use or meaning still needs evidence.

4 selected records · 4 intake leads. Membership records a resemblance; it does not establish common origin.

Compare the recorded features

Each row describes one object, surface or textual scope. A dash means “not recorded”, not “absent”. Features across different rows do not establish co-occurrence.

Record & scopeArched or handled outlineHeld by a figure
Pillar 43single surfaceRecorded—
Nimrud protective figuresingle surfaceRecordedRecorded
La Venta · Monument 19single surfaceRecordedRecorded
Jiroft handled objectsingle surfaceProvisional—
Cultural context

Neolithic Anatolia

Pillar 43, western carved face, photographed at Göbekli Tepe
Source-linked observation

Pillar 43

10th–9th millennia BCE

Arched or handled outline

Three arched forms at the top; no hand holds them. Calling them bags is an interpretation.

Episode, sources & image

Observation scope: single surface

  • 10th–9th millennia BCE · site context
    Broad published site context. No direct measurement dates this individual motif. Date source

Pillar 43: of animals and a headless man · The Göbekli Tepe research project

DAI / K. Schmidt Copyright; reproduced for critical comparison Image record
Existing source image; displayed uncropped. No generated reconstruction.

Cultural context

Assyrian imagery

Eagle-headed protective figure holding a bucket; Met 32.143.7
Source-linked observation

Nimrud protective figure

c. 883–859 BCE

Arched or handled outlineHeld by a figure

A handled bucket is held beside the body.

Episode, sources & image

Observation scope: single surface

  • c. 883–859 BCE · production
    Museum attribution to the palace of Ashurnasirpal II. Date source

Eagle-headed relief · 32.143.7

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Public domain / Open Access Image record
Museum web-large photograph downloaded unchanged (DP375422).

Cultural context

Olmec La Venta

La Venta Monument 19: seated figure inside a serpent
Source-linked observation

La Venta · Monument 19

c. 900–400 BCE · site context

Arched or handled outlineHeld by a figure

Small handled form associated with the seated figure; use is not identified here.

Episode, sources & image

Observation scope: single surface

  • c. 900–400 BCE · site context · site context
    Broad principal La Venta horizon; an individual monument date remains to be tightened. Date source

La Venta Monument 19 in El Tlacuache 1199 · La Venta: archaeological site

Gary Todd CC0 Image record
Existing source image; displayed uncropped. No generated reconstruction.

Cultural context

Jiroft region

Handled chlorite object attributed to Jiroft, with a figure and serpents
Provisional reading

Jiroft handled object

Date unresolved

Arched or handled outline

Supplied image and attribution; exact provenance and date unresolved.

Episode, sources & image

Observation scope: single surface

  • Date unresolved · unresolved
    The circulating image’s Bronze Age attribution needs an object-level record and excavated provenance check.

The project’s illustrated comparison archive

Nationalmuseumofiran CC BY-SA 4.0 Image record
Existing source image; displayed uncropped. No generated reconstruction.

The identification queue

Leads worth following.

Preserved claims and images, awaiting the checks needed for object records.

Identification open · claim

Another bird-headed protective relief

Bucket, cone and bird-headed figure are visible. It is not assumed to be the Met panel already registered.

Images, source check & next step
Bird-headed protective figure with bucket and cone; exact relief record untraced.
Bird-headed protective figure with bucket and cone; exact relief record untraced.
Supplied reference; original photographer or compiler uncredited unless stated in the audit. Rights unresolved; retained for source criticism. Not covered by the code licence.

Next: Identify the museum relief and attach this image to its correct object.

Input coverage and identification audit

Identification open · claim

Four Jiroft-labelled handled objects

The screenshots extend the single Jiroft record with several designs. Their caption’s “3000 BC” is not an independently checked date; exact provenance and authenticity remain open.

Images, source check & next step
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Supplied reference; original photographer or compiler uncredited unless stated in the audit. Rights unresolved; retained for source criticism. Not covered by the code licence.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Supplied reference; original photographer or compiler uncredited unless stated in the audit. Rights unresolved; retained for source criticism. Not covered by the code licence.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Supplied reference; original photographer or compiler uncredited unless stated in the audit. Rights unresolved; retained for source criticism. Not covered by the code licence.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Handled stone object attributed in the post to Jiroft; individual provenance unresolved.
Supplied reference; original photographer or compiler uncredited unless stated in the audit. Rights unresolved; retained for source criticism. Not covered by the code licence.

Next: Match each design to an inventory and find context; establish whether any image repeats the existing record.

Input coverage and identification audit

Identification open · claim

Kimberley bark buckets and Pillar 43

Fenton compares a bark bucket with the pillar’s upper forms. The ethnographic excerpt appears to concern Wunambal country in the Kimberley, not the Arnhem Land painting’s context.

Images, source check & next step
Bark bucket, Pillar 43 and an ethnographic excerpt in Fenton’s comparison.
Bark bucket, Pillar 43 and an ethnographic excerpt in Fenton’s comparison.
Supplied archive; see original image register. Underlying rights unresolved; reproduced for commentary.

Next: Verify the publication page and illustration, then record the container separately from the pillar’s uncertain interpretation.

Input coverage and identification audit · Preserved Fenton comparison thread

Identification open · claim

Yingarna, bags and creation

The archive identifies the Injalak Hill painting and reports scholarship placing it among recent, post-contact paintings. It cannot be assigned the pillar’s Neolithic age.

Images, source check & next step
Yingarna painting at Injalak Hill; bags and creation narrative are part of the comparison.
Yingarna painting at Injalak Hill; bags and creation narrative are part of the comparison.
Supplied archive; see original image register. Underlying rights unresolved; reproduced for commentary.

Next: Follow the local interpretation and earliest documentation; separate the painting’s age from the age of the tradition.

Input coverage and identification audit · Preserved Fenton comparison thread · Supplied-image identity register

Input coverage & corrections · Add an image or source