Semiotics of Constellations in Terracotta Pots in the Islamic Region of Shadiyakh

Molded pottery works from the era of Seljuq dynasty constitute a manmade artifact which provides an appropriate context for anthropological studies due to it being affordable, abundant, and easily accessible. One of the cultural symbols and signs frequently seen in molded pottery artifacts involves the illustrations of the constellations, commonly utilized in the era of Seljuq dynasty. Due to the fact that during the reign of the Seljuq dynasty, astronomy flourished and became mainstream while Iranian scientists became more involved in this field, these illustrations gradually became prominent symbols for the constellations. Semiotics is a science, whose founder can be considered Ferdinand de Saussure, because of his Signified and Signifier theory, which quickly spread in literature and lexicology. And Pierce divided that theory into three parts; icon, index and symbol, the most important part of which is symbol, and constellations are not an exception, and they can be examined in this part. Through evaluating the specimens collected from Shadyakh Islamic Compound, located in the southeastern part of Nishabur, which was the official settlement of the people of Nishabur from the third century AH until the seventh century AH, the current study tries to perform a semiotics investigation and evaluation on the illustrations of the constellations on the pottery works discovered from this compound. The main goal of the current study is to trace the symbols of constellations on the molded pottery works as well as the impacts metalworking might have had on this art. The main question is how the position and prominence of these symbols impacted the advancement and progress of the science of astronomy. It seems that during the reign of the Seljuq dynasty, due to the presence of many scientists as well as the expansion of the arts of metalworking and pottery, the illustrations of constellations gained such a special prominence among artists that they would often utilize such illustrations both as ornaments and as a means to educate people.