Mothers and figurines: representation of pregnancy in the Early Neolithic of Central Balkans (original) (raw)
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A Study Of Anthropomorphic Figurines In The Neolithic Of Southwest Asia And Southeastern Europe
2013
Anthropomorphic figurines resemble people, very often the people who created them. Thus, these figurines stand to provide insight into their cultures perhaps from the perspective of the original members of the culture. Researchers in figurine studies often speculate on the purposes of figurines and attempt to interpret their meanings. This study attempts to examine anthropomorphic figurines of the Neolithic in Southwest Asia and Southeastern Europe through cataloged and compared physical characteristics of the figurines themselves gathered from published data into a relational database. Figurine data are then imported into statistical software for analysis. The data produced in this study support the early hypothesis that a disproportionate number of figurines are representative of the female sex compared to male. The data also strengthen newer hypotheses that asexual figurines are equally disproportionate. The results reveal trends in representations of sex and suggest perhaps figurine creators may not always have been end users.
In ethnology, the symbolic meaning of a woman is based on the relationship between her biological development, social status and the changing affiliations within a particular community. In Northern Eurasia there is a generally accepted concept of woman as a hearth-keeper, which is well documented. This role is not only defined by her care for the family and the home, but also by her attention to all sacred objects connected with the household. The creation and decoration of sacred objects is usually inspired by an overall desire to accentuate the specific human or animal-like qualities of the charms. The analysis of female figurines will be biased towards female-spirits, such as The Totemic Mother, The Protectress of the Family, and The Mother Nature, whose images and associated rituals are well documented.
Archaic Conceptions about Procreation – A Reinterpretation of the Chalcolithic Figurines from Gilat
Time and Mind , 2016
The symbolism of the two complementary figurines found at the Chalcolithic site of Gilat—a woman with a churn and a ram with cornets—is reconsidered. The male sexual symbolism of the ram, the seminal associations of the cornets, and their position on the animal’s back suggest that the ram figurine expresses the belief that semen, the vital element of paternal issue, originates in the spinal cord. With her emphasized genitals and the uterine symbolism of the churn, the woman figurine evokes the transformation of the semen into bones in the womb. Analysis of the red painting used in the figurines suggests that heat was considered the physical factor behind the production of semen and its ensuing transformation into bones. The analysis also underscores the importance of blood, the maternally transmitted vital fluid, for the formation of flesh in the embryo. These findings, echoed in other ancient cultures, attest to the earliest integrated representation of the phenomenon of procreation discovered so far. This representation, however, is perceptible only after the viewer is made aware of the hidden continuity in the ceramic wall between each figure (ram, woman) and its associated artifact (cornets, churn). It is concluded that, given that this esoteric information focuses on the mysteries of procreation, the two figurines may not necessarily represent deities.
Figurines, Fertility, and the Emergence of Complex Society in Prehistoric Cyprus
Current Anthropology, 1996
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Neolithic Ceramic Figurines in the Shape of a Woman – House from the Republic of Macedonia
Anthropomorphic and Zoomorphic Miniature Figures in Eurasia, Africa and Meso-America. Morphology, materiality, technology, function and context , BAR International Series 2138, Oxford, 2010, 25-35
Objects usually called ‘altars’, some of which have been previously published, are common to the territory of the Republic of Macedonia and appear to be specific to the Central Balkan region. In this paper we present a typology of these objects and attempt to relate the different types and subtypes into a unique system where their mutual genetic relations may be defined. In spite of the absence of immediate parallels, comparable objects of this period include ceramic models of houses from southeast Europe and the Near East. Based on a symbolic and iconographic analysis, we suggest they were cult objects of the ‘woman-house’ type. We propose they represent deified and personalized houses which symbolize several categories and functions (i.e., the power to give birth, to produce, to protect, to feed, to maintain life, to gather and to organize people, to operate community and probably to reproduce and resurrect the deceased). The meaning and cultic use of these objects are revealed by the comparative method and especially by their synchronic and diachronic aspects. The parallels for the symbolic relation of ‘woman-house’ or its wider meaning ‘woman-dwelling’, is found in several classical cultures and especially in folklore traditions in several populations from European and Asian regions, and even abroad. The general symbolic meaning of some house elements and comparative material leads us to propose several hypotheses for the cultic use of these Neolithic objects from the Republic of Macedonia: for libation or lighting and for; imitative magic in which objects were inserted in them (e.g., icon lamp, grain, bread and milk), so that in the real house ‘the hearth is forever active’ and plenty of food may be stored. Key-words: Neolithic; Republic of Macedonia; house models; typology of ‘Woman-House’ models; symbolism of dwellings; ethnographic analogies.
The female figurines often encountered at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period and Pottery Neolithic Period are predominantly made of stone or terra-cotta. The Neolithic societies in Southeastern Anatolia Region depict the female figurines in a stereotyped style starting from the beginning of the period. The most prominent feature for this form of depiction encountered in the early period is that the female figurines are depicted in sitting position with hands joined in the front side. The female figurine on display at Adıyaman Museum also features similar depiction characteristics. This study shall dwell on the general characteristics and the depiction style of the female figurines in the Neolithic Period and shall give information on the female figurine on display at Adıyaman Museum.