In the ancient, base of religion was formed by myths,so identification of Elamitemythscan playan important roleto understand the culture and religion ofthesepeople. Till now, any written document of Elamite myths has been obtained, but according tothe similarities between Elamand Mesopotamian culture, by comparing the my thological sceneson Elamite seals with Mesopotamianseals and myths, in this article it has been tries to present some Mesopotamian myths, those which are also common in Elam. | Journal of Anthropology and Archaeology June 2014, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 129-145 ISSN: 2334-2420 (Print), 2334-2439 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). 2014. All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development Mythological Scenes from Ancient Mesopotamia on Elamit Cylinder Seals Nooraddin Mehdi Ghaempanah1, Reza Mehr Afarin2 and Malake Heydari3 Abstract Elamite civilizationis the most ancientcivilizationthat was formedinside thepresent bordersof Iran. It had dominatedlarge partsof theWesternand South-Western Iran, sincethe late fourth millenniumtill the mid-first millennium . Like other ancientcivilizations, Elamite civilization had been established based onreligion andits people's beliefs. In the ancient, base of religion was formed by myths,so identification of Elamitemythscan playan important roleto understand the culture and religion ofthesepeople. Till now, any written document of Elamite myths has been obtained, but according tothe similarities between Elamand Mesopotamian culture, by comparing the my thological sceneson Elamite seals with Mesopotamianseals and myths, in this article it has been tries to present some Mesopotamian myths, those which are also common in Elam. These myths include: "Rising of Shamash", "Etana; the first king", "Zu and tablets of destiny" and "Gilgamesh". Keywords: Elamite Civilization, Elam,Myth, Mesopotamia, Mythological Figures, Seal Introduction The favorable natural conditions in the Near East during the late-millennium caused the first civilizations of the ancient world namely Sumer and Elam to be formed in this region and traverse the evolution path alongside each other. 1 . in Archaeology, University of Sistan and Baluchestan. Tel: +989364274160 E-mail: 2 Associate Professor, University of Mazandaran, Iran, Babolsar, University of Mazandaran, Art & Architecture Faculty, Archaeology Department. E-mail: , 3 . in Archaeology, .
