Horned Figurines Made of Stone from the Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods and the Domestication of Sheep and Goat (original) (raw)
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At the time of writing, fourteen horned figurines made of stone have been uncovered in eight archaeological sites of the Levant and southern Anatolia dating to the Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (6th and 5th millennium cal BC). Their striking stylistic similarity, together with their low frequency, requires a detailed analysis. The figurines, produced of locally accessible stone, feature the head of a horned animal with characteristic spiralling horns. No comparable figurines manufactured of a different raw material like clay or ivory have been uncovered. Three typological groups can be distinguished based on the shape of the horns, possibly identified as Capra falconeri (Group 1) and Ovis aries orientalis (Groups 2 and 3) in different degrees of stylization. Recent genetic studies demonstrate that these species were progenitors of the domestic sheep and goat, respectively. Figurines of the second and third typological groups are pierced, which suggests that they were worn as personal ornaments. This paper draws attention to these figurines as a coherent group and suggests some possible meanings in proto-historic society. Their stylistic homogeneity
At the time of writing, fourteen horned figurines made of stone have been uncovered in eight archaeological sites of the Levant and southern Anatolia dating to the Pottery Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods (6th and 5th millennium cal BC). Their striking stylistic similarity, together with their low frequency, requires a detailed analysis. The figurines, produced of locally accessible stone, feature the head of a horned animal with characteristic spiralling horns. No comparable figurines manufactured of a different raw material like clay or ivory have been uncovered. Three typological groups can be distinguished based on the shape of the horns, possibly identified as Capra falconeri (Group 1) and Ovis aries orientalis (Groups 2 and 3) in different degrees of stylization. Recent genetic studies demonstrate that these species were progenitors of the domestic sheep and goat, respectively. Figur-ines of the second and third typological groups are pierced, which suggests that they were worn as personal ornaments. This paper draws attention to these figurines as a coherent group and suggests some possible meanings in proto-historic society. Their stylistic homogeneity is tentatively ascribed to a shared iconographic language across the Levant at the onset of agriculture. . With the advent of an agro-pastoral lifestyle and the increasing reliance on domesticated animals, their prevalence in the iconographic canon increased. However, research on them remained in the shadow of the more attractive anthropomorphic figurines (Hamilton et al. ; Noy-Israeli ; Moorey ). Recent studies draw attention to the much neglected zoomorphic clay figurines of the Neolithic period at Sha'arHagolan (Freikman and Garfinkel ) and Çatalhöyük (Martin and Meskell ). This paper draws attention to a group of stone carved zoomorphic figurines of horned animals found in Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites of the Levant and Mesopotamia in the th and th millennium cal (chronology and terminology used in this paper is based on Voigt and Dyson ; Garfinkel ). Two types of figurines of horned animals made of stone can be distinguished: the first being figurines of the head with the horns alone depicted, frequently pierced to be worn as a pendant (Fig. ) and the second being statuettes of the complete animal with detailed horns in high relief and a rather stylized body (Fig. ). While the first type is the topic of this paper, Amiran () discussed the latter group in some detail, comparing similarities between figurines found at Kabri and Azor in Israel and Tepe Yahya in Iran. She concluded that these comparisons "do not constitute as yet more than hints at a possibly much broader contact of the Chalcolithic-Pre-Jamdet Nasr cultures and much more complex interlockings between them than has been assumed" (Amiran , ). The hints of which she wrote are made clearer if one includes the first group of horned figurines in the analysis, for they are almost certainly related to those depicting the complete
Coincident with the processes that led to the development of agriculture and animal domestication, human and animal representations in clay, stone, and plaster were important constituents of the archaeological record across much of the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of the evidence comes from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) period, but there are also important findings from PPNA and the Late Epipaleolithic sites that suggest an increasingly growing concern for the livelihood of expanding human populations in local environments that were becoming more and more influenced by human activities. Nevertheless, significant differences appear in the relative frequencies of animal and human figurines from various parts of the region. For animals there are clear reflections of local faunas, although the iconography is not correlated with the importance of species in their contributions to local diets. As for human depictions, pregnant females indicate the importance of providing future generations, but not all females are portrayed in this condition. Furthermore, where sex can be determined, the proportion of males and females ranges over a considerable span. This study provides a synthesis of research and attempts to explain the variability of these circumstances.
Time and Mind, 2018
This paper investigates a corpus of Neolithic clay bovine figurines recovered from archaeological sites in the Central and Southern Levant. Despite numerous investigations, their function as utilitarian versus ritual objects is still unclear. In order to assess this issue, the depositional contexts and physical characteristics of just over 500 figurines were examined. The results reveal formalized and repetitive contextual data for the majority of the figurines studied, as well as commonality in their form and modifications. With reference to analogues from later Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft texts, support is found for the identification of the bovine figurines as objects associated with acts of ritualization, especially sacrifice, tied to the veneration of aurochs in Pre-Ceramic Neolithic periods. Furthermore, a symbolic structure linking bulls, sun, fire, ash, purification, fertility and rebirth was identified, possibly tying the bovine figurines to later fire rituals that are celebrated worldwide.
Acts of Neolithic ritualization associated with Levantine bovine figurines
Time and Mind, 2018
This paper investigates a corpus of Neolithic clay bovine figurines recovered from archaeological sites in the Central and Southern Levant. Despite numerous investigations, their function as utilitarian versus ritual objects is still unclear. In order to assess this issue, the depositional contexts and physical characteristics of just over 500 figurines were examined. The results reveal formalized and repetitive contextual data for the majority of the figurines studied, as well as commonality in their form and modifications. With reference to analogues from later Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft texts, support is found for the identification of the bovine figurines as objects associated with acts of ritualization, especially sacrifice, tied to the veneration of aurochs in Pre-Ceramic Neolithic periods. Furthermore, a symbolic structure linking bulls, sun, fire, ash, purification, fertility and rebirth was identified, possibly tying the bovine figurines to later fire rituals that are celebrated worldwide.
Material Images of Humans from the Natufian to Pottery Neolithic Periods in the Levant
2014
Map of the levant chronology 4. Archaeological Background to the End of the Natufian 4.1 Paleoperspective-out of africa 4.2 terminal Pleistocene cultures 4.3 The Natufian culture ~ 12,500 to 10,200 years ago. shamanism Natufian imagery 5. Archaeological Background Pre-Pottery and Pottery Neolithic Periods 5.1 Pre-Pottery neolithic period ~10,200-7,600 years ago Pre-Pottery neolithic a ~10,200-9,500 years ago PPna imagery red coloured skulls 5.2 Pre-Pottery neolithic b and Pre-Pottery neolithic c ~9,500-7,600 years ago PPnb imagery Pre-Pottery neolithic c 5.3 the Pottery neolithic Period ~7,500-6,300 years ago the yarmukian culture ~7,500-6,900 years ago the lodian (Jericho iX) culture the Wadi raba culture ~6.900-6,300 years ago 6. Interpretation 6.1 sexual imagery 6.2 'gender of power' 6.3 genital shapes ambiguous shapes and combined shapes Parure assemblage-shell beads conventions for male and female assimilation of genitals and eyes 7. Interpretation-Male Gods 7.1 elaboration of phallus, thigh and skull 7.2 axe gods and solar gods genital metaphor in tools genital analogy lozenges 7.3 therianthropic images 7.4 Posture and gesture-body art open legs-display position trihedral 8. Other Theories 8.1 evolutionary origin theories 8.2 blood meanings 8.3 entoptic imagery 9. Implictions for the Neolithic 9.1 original social contract-Hunter-gatherers 9.2 new social contract 9.3 Sacrifice ritualization of material objects Archaeological recognition of sacrifice violence separation Sacrifice as a Fertility Ritual Political implications 9.4. lineage 9.5 continuity of symbols-changing meanings 9.6 conclusion bibliograPHy PART II: Illustrations figures 1-125; figure references Period~Dates Duration Features Wadi Raba** 6,900-6,300 years ago~6 years Cluster of regional variants; recognized by pottery assemblage, domesticated sheep and goats, cattle and pigs; domesticated cereals, legumes, secondary products, milk products? olives, spinning and weaving. Yarmukian** 7,500-6,900 years ago~6 00 years Earliest pottery assemblage in S. Levant; culture recognized by distinctive pottery, imagery, flint tools; mostly domesticated sheep, goat, cattle, pigs. Domesticated cereals, legumes, flax. Pre-Pottery Neolithic B 9,500-7,600 years ago~1 ,900 years Emergence of village societies; population increase; broad cultural interaction zone "koine" over entire Levant and beyond. Large settlements; rectangular architecture; farming domesticated cereals, pulses. Domesticated sheep, goats, cattle and pigs. Intensive ritual and mortuary practices. Pre-Pottery Neolithic A 10,200-9,500 years ago~7 00 years Systemic cultivation, perhaps domestication supplemented by continued foraging and hunting; architecture; hierarchy of site sizes; earliest tel sites in the region. Intensive ritual and mortuary practices. Natufian (Late Epi-Palaeolithic)* 12,500-10,200 years ago ~2,300 years Complex hunter-gatherer society; from large sedentary communities to mobile communities; circular stone architecture. Broad spectrum foraging; intensive plant exploitation; hunting; domesticated dogs. Elaborate mortuary practices. Dates are calculated to: * Natufian and Pre-Pottery Neolithic dates based on Goring-Morris and Belfer-Cohen 1998:75. ** Pottery Neolithic dates are based on Gopher 1995a:208. cHronology Symbolic culture origins-the FCC model Central to the definition of the symbolic realm is: "… the invention of a whole new kind of things, things that have no existence in the 'real' world but exist entirely in the symbolic realm.' Chase (1994: 628). cHaPter one 1.2 The contribution of history Researchers debating the appearance, origin and significance of monotheism and female deities in ancient israel (e.g. keel 1980, lang 1981 and Haag 1985) draw increasingly on visual depictions recovered from archaeological excavations, identifying religious concepts and symbols of divine pantheons. thus for historical periods, a rich repertoire of symbolic material has been collected with which to identify gods (keel, 1997[1972]; keel and uehlinger 1998). these symbols are extremely conservative and keel (1998) takes the view that the generally accepted view of this period in the southern levant is one of changed subsistence, an economy of domesticated resources and sedentary living (e.g. bar-yosef and belfer-cohen 1989b; bar-yosef and Meadow 1995).
This dissertation demonstrates that the surprising iconography of human images in the archaeological assemblages of the Levantine Neolithic indicates that they were gods. An analysis of the iconography of the human-like artifacts of my data reveals genital shapes used metaphorically to portray androgynous images as well as elements of therianthropic imagery and red pigment. This iconography meets the predictions of the evolutionary anthropological hypothesis, the 'Female Cosmetic Coalition model' (FCC), which describes the first supernatural symbols as fused male: female, human: animal and red, and predicts that the iconography of early gods would bear this same symbolic syntax. My thesis shows that the material images of the Natufian and Neolithic in the Levant fit this model closely, confirming their identity as gods.
Investigating Hybridity: Neolithic Human-Bird Figurines from the Southern Levant
In this paper, we explore ceramic figurines depicting human-bird therianthropes, from Neolithic sites in the Southern Levant. We argue that the choice of birds was not accidental as, aside from their attractive physical characteristics (e.g. ability to fly), they represented a class of animals that was still wild in a period that witnessed the domestication of many other taxa. These hybrid images reflect the "transfer" of animal properties to humans-the birds vital force, physical and spiritual attributes-thus, enabling assimilation of their extraordinary powers. We suggest that these figurines are part of a wider ontology created by Neolithic communities in this region which bound them to birds, especially raptors.
ANIMAL FIGURINES DURING THE EARLY BRONZE AGE OF ANATOLIA: THE CASE OF KOÇUMBELİ
2019
his thesis aims to understand the use of animal figurines at the Early Bronze Age site of Koçumbeli in social context. In order to achieve this aim, 20 animal figurines from Koçumbeli have been examined in terms of their thematic representations, raw materials, production technique, color, breakage as well as their contexts. Thematic evaluations focus on the animals depicted and their sex and age, while the contextual evaluations focus on the spatiality of animal figurines in relation to domestic and burial contexts. Following this, where possible through the publications, the animal figurines discovered at other EBA sites of Anatolia are evaluated in similar terms, in an attempt to achieve a better understanding of the figurines under consideration. The thematic findings indicate that horned animals are particularly emphasized both within the corpus of Koçumbeli and other sites. Besides these, other animals can be found within the assemblages. The contextual evaluations suggest that the clay animal figurines are generally associated with domestic contexts whereas the metal figurines are associated with elite burial contexts. Based on an evaluation of these findings against the subsistence economy of the time period as well as the development of animal imagery during the prehistory of Anatolia, it is suggested that animal figurines mediate a negotiation of social identity and prestige of individuals and families with reference to beliefs and rituals of social regeneration. Their specialized production in metals and association with elite burials should be placed in context of the emerging centralization processes during EBA in Anatolia.
this book demonstrates that the surprising iconography of human images in the archaeological assemblages of the levantine neolithic indicates that they were gods. an analysis of the iconography of the human-like artifacts of my data reveals genital shapes used metaphorically to portray androgynous images as well as elements of therianthropic imagery and red pigment. this iconography meets the predictions of the evolutionary anthropological hypothesis, the 'female cosmetic coalition model' (fcc), which describes the first supernatural symbols as fused male: female, human: animal and red, and predicts that the iconography of early gods would bear this same symbolic syntax. My book shows that the material images of the Natufian and Neolithic in the Levant fit this model closely, confirming their identity as gods.