Abstract:

The writing instruments depicted on Neo-Hittite stone reliefs consist of the waxed tablets, pointed styli and a pen case. Technomically these confirm that beside the different type of mediae the perishable materials were in widely use for everyday documents during the Neo-Hittite period. Contrary to the general presumption, on the other hand, it is argued here that their socio-technical character do not necessarily need to indicate the profession of the associated figure like “the scribe” or “the augur”, but may refer solely to the literacy possessed by the figure such as non-adults representations on the commemorative stelae. In addition to that the writing implements discussed here are powerful ideotechnical elements conditioned with the renewed historical and socio-cultural context of the Early Iron Age. In this respect, the multicultural and multilingual discourse of the Neo-Hittite kingdoms may have reached to the outside of the royal-courts and become appreciable for the provincial elites to a degree, as well.

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