Urban growth in northern Mesopotamia in the early fourth millennium BC was accompanied by an increase in clay container sealings, reflecting the intensified movement and management of resources and manufactured items. The diverse imagery impressed into these sealings includes a human-ibex grasping a pair of snakes, a bird-human, and other composite figures. The human-ibex in particular has been identified as a ‘shaman’, but this is not an appropriate term. The early fourth millennium BC was a period of enormous social and economic upheaval generated by the growth of cities and institutions. Composite figures may have expressed resistance to increasingly structured lived experiences, acknowledging the paradoxes of urban living and affirming the continued presence of the unexplainable.

中文翻译：

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早期城市北部美索不达米亚的复合人类动物形象：萨满还是抵抗的形象？

公元前四千年初期，美索不达米亚北部的城市发展伴随着粘土容器密封的增加，反映了资源和制成品的流动和管理的加强。印在这些印章上的各种图像包括一只抓着两条蛇的山羊人、一只鸟人和其他复合人物。尤其是人类山羊已被确定为“萨满”，但这不是一个合适的术语。公元前四千年初期，城市和机构的发展引发了巨大的社会和经济动荡。复合人物可能表达了对日益结构化的生活体验的抵制，承认城市生活的悖论并肯定无法解释的持续存在。