Material Affective Engagements: Examples from Ancient Mesopotamia
Aestimatio November 25, 2025 Ulrike Steinert, Giovanna Colombetti
Amulets from first-millennium BC Mesopotamia, used as bodily adornments and activated in rituals, were recommended by healing experts to influence affective states in oneself and others. By applying the 4E cognition framework—which holds that cognition is embodied, embedded, enactive, and extended—to emotions, the article argues that these material objects served as affective scaffolds, transforming emotions and moods through bodily interactions. The study examines how specific material features of amulet components (minerals, metals, plant and animal substances) were linked to affective responses, drawing on cuneiform scholarly compendia. Comparing ancient Mesopotamian views with contemporary cognitive-affective science reveals analogies but also important differences rooted in distinct understandings of the human mind and agency.