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Which marks on the hieroglyphic seals are writing, and which are ornament?

Asked 31 Oct 2026 by ·3 answers·0·0 following
Three answers, none aheadNone is ahead yet. See what would settle it.

Where it stands

Three answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Three are still possible.

Why it matters

CHIC admitted a seal graph to the sign list only if it also occurs on clay and set the rest aside as decoration, following a view going back to Pope in 1968 that seal engraving was not serious writing⁠[1]. Jasink restored more than thirty motifs, Decorte argued that the whole seal face is one syntax, and the INSCRIBE team in 2023 found that some excluded motifs occupy the positions of signs⁠[2]⁠[3]⁠[4]. Jasink and Weingarten add that the seals were ornaments whose script was meant to be seen, which bears on how the signs were used but not on whether they are signs⁠[5].

Answers 3

Evidence: 1 for, 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 against
Still possible
Evidence: 1 for
Still possible

Next steps 1

1
Using DBAS-CHS or CHIC drawings, tabulate every seal face with the position and neighbours of each graph, and test whether CHIC-excluded motifs fill sign slots more often than a shuffled null.
~30 h
—not judged
Ranked by how likely each is to move the key question, for the time it takes

History

  1. Anna Margherita Jasink: the 2023 INSCRIBE study found that some motifs CHIC excluded occupy the positions and combinations of recognised signs…For: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  2. Roeland P.-J. E. Decorte: the 2023 INSCRIBE study found that some motifs CHIC excluded occupy the positions and combinations of recognised signs…For: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  3. Barbara Montecchi et al.: low frequencies make it impossible to chart the distribution of many seal graphs, so whether each is decorative…Against: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  4. Silvia Ferrara et al.: the 2023 INSCRIBE study found that some motifs CHIC excluded occupy the positions and combinations of recognised signs…For: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  5. Silvia Ferrara et al.: the clay-attestation rule excludes by construction any sign used only on seals, and has been rejected by Jasink…Against: Some seal graphs are writing and the rest are decoration; a graph counts as a sign when it is also attested on clay.
  6. Silvia Ferrara: low frequencies make it impossible to chart the distribution of many seal graphs, so whether each is decorative…Against: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  7. Silvia Ferrara: the clay-attestation rule excludes by construction any sign used only on seals, and has been rejected by Jasink…Against: Some seal graphs are writing and the rest are decoration; a graph counts as a sign when it is also attested on clay.
  8. Anna Margherita Jasink: seal sequences appear to name owners or offices, and seal shape, stone and sequence correlate with the holder's status.For: The seals were luxury ornaments carrying owners' names in a script meant to be seen more than read.
  9. Cassandra M. Donnelly: the 2023 INSCRIBE study found that some motifs CHIC excluded occupy the positions and combinations of recognised signs…For: Every graph on a hieroglyphic seal face belongs to the script's graphic system, including motifs CHIC set aside as…
  10. Cassandra M. Donnelly: the clay-attestation rule excludes by construction any sign used only on seals, and has been rejected by Jasink…Against: Some seal graphs are writing and the rest are decoration; a graph counts as a sign when it is also attested on clay.
  11. Cassandra M. Donnelly: seal sequences appear to name owners or offices, and seal shape, stone and sequence correlate with the holder's status.For: The seals were luxury ornaments carrying owners' names in a script meant to be seen more than read.
  12. Session 1: raised the question, proposed three answers and found four results bearing on its answers
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