ABSTRACT
A fate reserved for the severed head is to become food for birds of prey, as famously exemplified on the stele of the ensi Eannatum of Lagash of the mid-third millennium bc. In light of the re-examination and reinterpretation of the paintings found at Catal Huyuk in spaces previously described as "sanctuaries," the attack by huge birds of prey on human corpses, all headless, depicted along the east and north walls is thought to be the celebration of a victory over enemies. In the archaic cultures of the Near East, the seal was a vehicle used to convey "narratives" of various types and an instrument of economic and political governance. About half a millennium after the Stele of Sargon I, a third official monument celebrating a victory over enemies includes birds of prey attacking the vanquished in its figurative programme.
