Inlay: combat between a human-headed bull and a lion-headed eagle ca. 2600-2500 B.C. Sumerian Carved from a piece of shell, this plaque is incised with the image of a human-headed bull attacked by a lion-headed eagle against a backdrop of vegetation. Both creatures are shown with bodies in profile view and heads frontally oriented, looking directly out at the viewer. The body of the human-headed bull is stocky and powerful, and the long tail brushes the ground. His face, with large eyes whose pupils have been emphasized by drilling, is ringed by a beard of long individual locks, each ending in a curl. A row of short curls is visible at his forehead, under his large bovine ears and horns. The lion-headed eagle grips his back with talons that are depicted as human hands, and sinks its teeth into the human-headed bulls flank. Its eagle feathers are represented by large hatched areas, and its lion head is shown complete with ears. Both the human-headed bull and the lion-headed eagle appea