Echoes of Loss: Socio-Cultural Interpretation of the Hand Relief with a Missing Finger on a Burial Pithos from Küllüoba
The meanings attributed to the hand motif, which has been used as a symbol since prehistoric times, are extremely diverse. This diversity is likely due to the importance of the hand as a limb in the human body. The sensitivity of the f ingertips laid the groundwork for the active use of the hand, enabling humans to invent tools and facilitating both cultural and technological advancements in settlements. The hand motif/stencil, which first appeared in parietal art, can also be observed on pottery in subsequent periods. The motif discussed in this article belongs to a four fingered hand depicted on a pithos unearthed in the Early Bronze Age I Cemetery at Küllüoba Höyük. The fact that the hand on the pithos has four fingers, that the pithos was used as a burial container, and that the remains of a child’s burial were found inside elevates this motif beyond mere decoration, making it open to various interpretations. In the article, it is argued, based on the example from Küllüoba and compared with similar examples from Gargas Cave, that a deliberate amputation might have been performed. The pithos, with its motif, the findings inside, and its context, forms a unique combination and, for now, represents the earliest known example in the field of archaeology in terms of both its archaeological significance and the meanings attributed to it.
