Neolithic figurines

Kikladlar, Ege Denizinin güney kesiminin ortasında bulunan küçük adalar
topluluğu olarak adlandırılmaktadır. Kiklad Adaları olarak bilinen adalar grubu, Ege Denizinde Girit adasının kuzeyinde, Yunanistan’ın Attika bölgesi ile Peloponnesos (Mora) yarımadasıyla, Türkiye’nin güney batısındaki Karia arasında kalan bir bölgede bulunur.1 Bu adalara Kiklad denilmesinin sebebi halkaya benzer bir şekilde dairesel dizilmiş olmasıdır. Zira Eski Yunanca da “Kyklades” sözcüğü halka-daire anlamında gelmektedir. Volkanik Santorini (Thera) adası en tanınmışlarından olmakla birlikte, Naksos, Paros, Melos (Milos) vb. Adalarla tanımlanmaktadır. Bu adalar grubunun en önemli özelliği, Anadolu ile Yunanistan arasındaki ulaşımı kolaylaştırmak, kültürel ve ekonomik ilişkileri geliştirmek anlamında Ege’nin diğer adalarından çok daha fazla katkıda bulunmuş olmalarıdır.
Bu adalarda MÖ 3. Bin’de, diğer Ege Uygarlıklarından farklılaşan bir kültür
seviyesi olarak Erken Kiklad Kültürü tanımlanabilmektedir. Anadolu’daki Erken Tunç Çağı ile çağdaş bu kültüre ait önemli bir eser grubunu, mermer yontu eser grubu içindeki figürinler oluşturmaktadır. İlk Kiklad figürinlerini Avrupalı seyyahlar 18. yüzyıl sonu ile 19. yüzyılın ilk yarısından itibaren dünya literatürüne kazandırmıştır. O dönemde geçerli olan ve klasik çağa öykünen güzellik anlayışları uyarınca figürinler başlangıçta barbar figürinleri, ilkel, çirkin zevksiz ve itici olarak nitelendirilmiş fakat 20. Yüzyıl başlarındaki modern sanatın etkisiyle figürinlerin sanatsal değeri iade
edilmiştir.2 20. yüzyılda popülaritesi artan bu eser grubu özellikle uluslararası eski eser piyasasının talebini karşılamak üzere 1950’lerde ve 1960’larda Kiklad Adalarında yasa dışı kazıların hızla artmasına yol açmıştır. Bu durumun yarattığı yağma ve bilimsel araştırma yoksunluğu çoğu Kiklad figürininin kökeninin bilinmemesine neden olmuştur. Bu duruma istisnai bir durum ise Keros adasındaki Kavos’un yalnızca tamamen yağmalanmış olmamasıdır. Burada 1960’larda Yunan arkeologlar (Kristos Doumas ve Photeini Zapheiropoulou’nun) çalışmaları daha sonra 1987’de Colin Renfrew, Kristos Doumas ve Lila Marangou önderliğindeki üniversiteler arası araştırma projeleri ve 2006 – 2008 yılları arasındaki yine Colin Renfrew’in yönettiği Cambridge Karos projesi önemli bilimsel araştırmalar arasındadır.

The paper discusses a special category of zoomorphic miniature representations, the two-headed large animal figurines, common in the Neolithic site of Dikili Tash during Late Neolithic II. A thorough investigation of these objects, focusing on their technological properties, confirmed how different they are from other zoomorphic figurines and revealed several distinctive characteristics regarding their use. On this basis, these objects have been removed from the figurine group and reclassified as zoomorphic stands.

Tell Sabi Abyad is one of the best-known Neolithic sites in Upper Mesopotamia. The site has a long-term settlement sequence spanning nearly two millennia, from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic up to the Halaf period. Over this period, the inhabitants of the site were likely faced with changes in their surroundings because of climate change around 6300 BCE (the so-called 8.2 ka Event). Facing these climate changes, the community at Tell Sabi Abyad showed resiliency and archaeologically we can observe how they adapted their subsistence strategies, material assemblages, and settlement forms.
This paper focuses on an underrepresented category of material culture, namely the figurines. In light of the observed changes at the site possibly associated with the 8.2 ka Event, the changes in figurine practices will be discussed and how they might tie in with the adaptive strategies observed at Tell Sabi Abyad.

This paper discusses a small group of figurines found in the Early Pottery Neolithic levels of Operation III at Tell Sabi Abyad in Syria. This group of 18 objects forms a unique group within the larger corpus of figurines discovered at the site. Their most salient feature is the presence of round appliqués, often with fingernail impressions, placed on the bases of these objects. A brief discussion of the figurines from the site will be followed by object biographies of the 18 figurines, focussing on their production, use and deposition. Finally, I will reflect on the nature of these figurines in relation to Olivier Nieuwenhuyse’s research on appliqués on pottery and whether we might interpret the appliqués on pottery and figurines as similar phenomena.

This volume presents a cutting-edge perspective on figurine studies in the Neolithic Aegean, sparking renewed interest and innovative ideas. It celebrates two significant milestones in the field: the 50th anniversary of Giorgos Hourmouziadis' Ph.D. thesis (submitted in 1973 and published in 1974) and the 30th anniversary of Lauren Talalay's Ph.D. thesis (submitted in 1983 and published in 1993).
Central to this work are three key questions: What advancements have been made since these seminal publications? Where do we stand now? And what future directions should we explore? A group of esteemed scholars addresses these questions through detailed case studies, presenting fresh material and ideas within a robust contextual framework.
This book showcases a rich diversity of methods and results, underscoring that figurines were not uniformly made, understood, or used across different times and places. By advocating for the creation of varied narratives at both macro and micro levels, we highlight the complexity and richness of figurine studies. We hope this volume will serve as a cornerstone for ongoing and future discussions in the field.

This article is based on an EAA session in Kiel in 2021, in which thirteen contributors provide their response to Robb and Harris's (2018) overview of studies of gender in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, with a reply by Robb and Harris. The central premise of their 2018 article was the opposition of ‘contextual Neolithic gender’ to ‘cross-contextual Bronze Age gender’, which created uneasiness among the four co-organizers of the Kiel meeting. Reading Robb and Harris's original article leaves the impression that there is an essentialist ‘Neolithic’ and ‘Bronze Age’ gender, the former being under-theorized, unclear, and unstable, the latter binary, unchangeable, and ideological. While Robb and Harris have clearly advanced the discussion on gender, the perspectives and case studies presented here, while critical of their views, take the debate further, painting a more complex and diverse picture that strives to avoid essentialism.

In the past few years, radiological analyzes carried out on artifacts belonging to prehistoric civilizations become more and more common, since these non-invasive methods can highlight various technological aspects, without causing damage to heritage goods. X-ray imaging has been known for several decades as a widely used method for medical diagnosis. However, in present days this type of investigation is not widely used in cultural heritage goods, although it is extremely effective in unraveling several technological aspects, generating images from the inside of artifacts. Some of the anthropomorphic statuettes in the collections of the Botoșani County Museum, belonging to the Cucuteni Culture (4.600-3.500 BC), were analyzed in a specialized laboratory. The resulting images after taking the radiographs revealed new elements related to the methods of making them, allowing the observation of some materials added to the paste of the statuettes and the existence of some cavities inside the objects. X-ray radiographs allow us to go further on the interpretation of anthropomorphic statuettes, from the perspective of the ways of modeling and use, but also of their spiritual meanings. Given this potential, in this article we wish to discuss these aspects, both from a functional and a symbolic perspective. I also reviewed the results obtained with the help of radiographs, made on several statuettes from the Cucuteni Culture, published in the specialized literature.

Εκτύπωση: ΙΔΕΑ & ΤΥΠΟΣ-Φίλιππος Σπ. Λένης © Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού & Αθλητισμού-Ταμείο Αρχαιολογικών Πόρων & Απαλλοτριώσεων και Εργαστήριο Αρχαιολογίας Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλίας Ο τόμος τυπώθηκε με δαπάνες του Υπουργείου Πολιτισμού & Αθλητισμού-Ταμείου Αρχαιολογικών Πόρων & Απαλλοτριώσεων και του Πανεπιστημίου Θεσσαλίας. Οι περισσότερες ανακοινώσεις ανασκαφών ή αντικειμένων έχουν προκαταρκτικό χαρακτήρα και για οποιαδήποτε αναδημοσίευσή τους χρειάζεται η άδεια του συγγραφέα.

The main objective of this study was the archaeometric analysis of eleven ceramic fragments discovered in the archaeological site of Suplacu de Barcău/Porț-Corău, situated in the Northwest part of Romania, more precisely in the Sylvanian Basin. The ceramic fragments come from different archaeological contexts and show a typically decoration, through black painting. The studied ceramic fragments have fine and semi-fine textures, discovered in certain stratigraphic situations: funerary contexts or household pits. All the analysed fragments belong to the Suplac type pottery. The archaeological research, both systematic and preventive, highlighted the main characteristics of the Neolithic habitation in the Sylvanian Basin, making it the subject of numerous studies until now. In the present paper, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analyses were carried out on the batch of ceramic pieces studied, and based on the obtained results, the burning temperature of the samples was estimated. At the same time, for five clay samplescollected from archaeological sites and around the settlementthe elemental content was determined to establish the potential source of clay for the ceramic fragments.

Kadın söz konusu olduğunda geçmişe doğru iz sürüldüğünde arkeolojinin karşılaştığı en eski veriler Üst Paleolitik Çağın venüs heykelcikleridir. Avrupa'dan Sibirya'ya geniş bir alanda bulunmuş olan bu heykelcikler genellikle dişilik organları abartılmış kadın temsilleridir. En ünlüleri kireçtaşından yapılmış Willendorf venüsüdür. Genelde saç ve yüz detayları olmayan Venüs heykelciklerde saçın ve yüzün detaylandırıldığı örnekler de vardır. Bu heykelciklerin varlığı prehistorik insanın ilgisinin neden kadın ya da kadın bedeninin belli noktalarına bu kadar odaklandığı sorusunu gündeme getirmiştir. Toplumsal, ekonomik ya da kültürel işlevleri üzerine araştırmacıların uzlaştığı ortak bir cevap bulunmamakla birlikte farklı yorumlar yapılmıştır. Heykelcikler kadınlık, annelik, doğurganlık, bereket, hayatta kalma, yeniden doğuş, büyü, ve Şamanizm'le ilişkilendirildikleri gibi basit bir oyuncak ya da işaret nesnesi olarak da nitelendirilmişlerdir. Kadın heykelcikleri sadece Paleolitik Çağda değil tüm maden çağları boyunca kile, kemiğe, taşa, mermere işlenmiştir. Bu heykelciklerin kültürel/ekonomik/ekolojik çeşitlilik göz önüne alınmadan, çoğunlukla tek tip olarak aynı kategoride değerlendirilmiş olmaları kadınlarının tarihsel rollerinin ve geçirdikleri değişim sürecinin anlaşılmasını zorlaştıran unsurlardan biri olmuştur. Bir diğer unsur da Anadolu özelinde Tunç Çağına kadar arkeolojik verileri destekleyecek filolojik verilerin olmayışıdır. Tarihinin yazı ile takip edilebildiği Tunç Çağında Anadolu'da arkeolojik çalışmaların gün yüzüne çıkardığı yazılı tabletler siyasal, sosyal ve ekonomik yaşamda kadınların yeri ve önemi hakkında önceki dönemlere oranla daha ayrıntılı veriler sunabilmiştir.

The excavations at Ur conducted by C. L Woolley in the 20's yielded a large number of terracottas. Among these, many clay figurines came from the site of Diqdiqqah, whose stratigraphy was considerably disturbed, and documentation fragmented. Despite the publication of several volumes on Ur excavations and the numerous field reports that were accurately noted by Woolley, there is still data that needs further investigation. Zoomorphic figurines were only briefly described by Woolley and Mallowan in a section called minor objects, and Woolley's field cards do not give us much information on this class of objects that remains largely unexplored. Additionally, the excavation reports mainly focused on monumental architecture and objects that Woolley considered of interest. A further investigation on zoomorphic figurines can contribute to the understanding of their use and its social context, and to a better depiction of the social life of those who produced and used them. In this paper I suggest a multidisciplinary approach to the study of clay animal figurines that will mainly focus on the domestic context.

People living at Sovjan and other locations in the Korça Basin have continually negotiated a
dynamic landscape in which vegetation was altered not only by climatic shifts, but also by the
direct impact of human activities. Over the course of the Holocene, the documented vegetation
changes would also have had profound impacts on choices concerning resource and land-use that
further contributed to landscape change. Long-term floristic changes may be reconstructed on
the basis of several lines of evidence that include modern botanical survey, 1 sediment and pollen
cores from the former Lake Maliq and Sovjan,2 archaeobotanical materials from Sovjan,3 and
ethnoecological investigations in modern Sovjan.4 Despite changes in vegetation due to climatic the late Pleistocene until modern drainage of the marsh beginning in 1946.

In general, archaeobotanical data support a model of the persistence of a variety of wetland vegetation communities and their intensive use during prehistory. The Middle Bronze Age (MBA) was characterized by limited, small-scale woodland clearance characterized by a narrow range of agricultural crops and an intensive use of wild food resources, particularly locationally stable types such as tree fruits and nuts.5 During the Late Bronze Age (LBA), subsistence and land use patterns both changed in ways that would have produced more pronounced shifts in vegetation. As the LBA population reduced its use of wild plant resources, they not only expanded their suite of crops to include free-threshing wheat (T. aestivum), but also extensified the area under cultivation. Until the LBA, climate appears to be the primary determinant of vegetation changes in the Korça basin, with human activity having a lesser impact.

As the focus of this volume is to apply several lines of evidence to document the environment around Sovjan, only a brief overview of the cultural and behavioral implications of the archaeobotanical data is provided here. The full archaeobotanical dataset, together with taphonomic and contextual considerations that affect its interpretation, as well as ethnohistorical evidence for more recent changes in vegetation and land use (mid-18th century to present), will be presented in a subsequent volume. Here I focus on archaeobotanical indicators of past vegetation communities and floristic changes over time. This discussion is situated within an overview of the modern vegetation of the Korça basin (Tables 2.1-2.6) that serves to contextualize the discussion of the plant fossil data, including pollen and macrobotanical remains (Table 2.7).

Στις 22 Ιούνη, ολοκληρώθηκαν οι “Δελφικοί Διάλογοι” με ομιλητές όπως ο L. Floridi και η K. Hayles, υπό την αιγίδα της Προέδρου της Δημοκρατίας και τίτλο: “Δημοκρατία και Πολιτισμός στην Εποχή του Μέτα-ανθρώπινου” Βρισκόμαστε στην εποχή του Μετά-Ανθρώπινου; Είναι το Μετά-Ανθρώπινο το πεδίο μέριμνας της δημοκρατίας και του πολιτισμού; Και τι σημαίνει Μετα-Ανθρώπινο;

Abstract: Italian Neolithic Art: state of art and new evidences - This paper presents recent (post-1991) finds in Italian Neolithic art. The analysis and revision consider more than 200 objects and the majority are anthropomorphic figurines. The evolution in form mirrors that of Southern European figurines. While conforming to that model they remain a peripheral phenomenon. Almost all are ceramic with just a few made of bone or shell. Female figurines are distinguished by the presence of breast, pubic triangle and/or steatopygia, masculine ones by genitalia and ambivalent ones have masculine shape but with well-defined feminine attributes. Given the fragmentation of the artefacts, at the moment it is not possible to confirm the occurrence of either genderless figurines lacking sexual elements or hermaphroditic ones with explicit male and female characteristics. However the latter are found in Southern Italy by the beginning of the VI millennium cal. B.C., when the ambivalent figurines prevail. In Central and Northern Italy they occur from the mid/late VI millennium cal. B.C. Production seems to end about the mid/late V millennium cal. B.C. when elements of western origin begin to spread. Some of them are related to wall decorations (cult structures?) and to symbolic objects (Colle Cera, Catignano, Ponte Ghiara). The clustering of figurines and funerary contexts (Vicofertile and Guidorossi) testify their symbolic character and seem to exclude household cults.
Key Words: Neolithic art, Human figurines, Neolithic, Italy.

Excavations by Georgios Bakalakis and Dimitris Lazaridis in Kavala's old town (Panagia peninsula) in the mid-20th century brought to light impressive finds from the sanctuary of Parthenos, the patron deity of ancient Neapolis, one of Thasos' most important colonies. Dating mainly to the Archaic period, these finds testify to the cosmopolitan character of the sanctuary, its high number of visitors, and its key role as a Northern Aegean social and economic centre. The archaeological record includes architectural members, inscriptions, and substantial amounts of pottery (both local and imported), along with significant small finds. In particular, the latter need to be addressed, as they invite a fresh examination of the characteristics of this goddess.

This article is based on an EAA session in Kiel in 2021, in which thirteen contributors provide their response to Robb and Harris's (2018) overview of studies of gender in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, with a reply by Robb and Harris. The central premise of their 2018 article was the opposition of ‘contextual Neolithic gender’ to ‘cross-contextual Bronze Age gender’, which created uneasiness among the four co-organizers of the Kiel meeting. Reading Robb and Harris's original article leaves the impression that there is an essentialist ‘Neolithic’ and ‘Bronze Age’ gender, the former being under-theorized, unclear, and unstable, the latter binary, unchangeable, and ideological. While Robb and Harris have clearly advanced the discussion on gender, the perspectives and case studies presented here, while critical of their views, take the debate further, painting a more complex and diverse picture that strives to avoid essentialism.

The opening of the final excavation area in Çatalhöyük and the zooarcheological research conducted there have revealed an equid phalanx with incision marks shaped to resemble eyes. We argue that the choice of bone as raw material for the artifact (the first bone figurine from Çatalhöyük) is related to its anatomy and to availability. We show that the figurine and other modified equid first phalanges at Çatalhöyük were associated with food storage rooms, which exclusively represent the late phases of occupation. In these terms, they differ from the known practices of the Near East.

From the 1970s to the 1990s, archaeologist Marija Gimbutas developed the “Goddess Theory,” focusing on a divine female figure worshipped in “Old Europe” and displaced by Metal Ages’ patriarchal warrior cultures. Influenced by Joseph Campbell’s views on the contrast between Neolithic “mystical-emotional religion” of a Great Mother Earth and Iron Age patriarchal religions of groups like the Indo-Ary- ans and Semites, Gimbutas crafted an archaeological narrative of these supposed Neolithic beliefs. Her theory significantly influenced the second wave of feminism in North America and Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. However, Jo Ann Hackett observed that postwar feminists adopted not ancient “religions” but “modern West- ern scholars’ fantasies.” Hence, the article explores how the Eranos circle’s propa- gation of Great Mother theories from 1933 to 1948 influenced Gimbutas’s research, and how these scholars helped forge new mythologies. These mythologies, influenced by Jungian psychology, were projected onto archaeological data, thereby altering its interpretation up until the late twentieth century.

Πρακτικά του Συνεδρίου "Ταμπού - Παράβαση - Υπέρβαση στην Τέχνη και την Επιστήμη. Ιόνιο Πανεπιστήμιο, Κέρκυρα 2016. Ένα τρίπτυχο-ταμπού, αλληλένδετο με την ανθρώπινη ύπαρξη. Τρία αδιαχώριστα
ζητήματα που συνθέτουν ένα προβληματικό πλέγμα για τον Νάρκισσο του οβιδιακού μύθου.
Μία θεματική που επανέρχεται συνεχώς και στην καλλιτεχνική δημιουργία. Ο Αλμπέρτι ανήγαγε την απαρχή της καλλιτεχνικής δημιουργίας στον Νάρκισσο, χαρακτηρίζοντάς τον ευρετή της ζωγραφικής. Ο Νάρκισσος αγωνίζεται να υπερβεί τα όρια, όπως και ο ζωγράφος.
Όπως ο Νάρκισσος, έτσι και ο ζωγράφος, ή όποιος άλλος εικαστικός καλλιτέχνης, καλείται
να διαχειριστεί αυτά τα θέματα-ταμπού μέσα στη μοναξιά του. Αν η μοναξιά είναι συνυφασμένη με τον καλλιτέχνη, τότε ο αφηγηματικός εικαστικός λόγος είναι αυτός που την μετουσιώνει σε δημιουργική συνιστώσα. Η διερευνητική αυτή εργασία αποτελεί μέρος μίας ευρύτερης έρευνας που συντελέσθηκε το 2016 στο Τμήμα Επικοινωνίας και ΜΜΕ, στο πλαίσιο του μεταπτυχιακού μαθήματος «Ζητήματα καλλιτεχνικής δημιουργίας» της κατεύθυνσης Πολιτισμικών
και κινηματογραφικών σπουδών. Συγκεκριμένα, εξετάζεται ο τρόπος με τον οποίο η καλλιτεχνική δημιουργία συμβάλλει στην διαχείριση του έρωτα, του θανάτου και του εαυτού,
τόσο ως προς την εικαστική όσο και ως προς την περιγραφική αφήγηση. Βασικό εργαλείο
για το εγχείρημα αυτό αποτελούν οι συνεντεύξεις σύγχρονων Ελλήνων καλλιτεχνών.

Çatalhöyük East, a Neolithic site in Central Anatolia, has often been referred to as the place of the Mother Goddess. This is because of interpretations made by Mellaart, who discovered and excavated the site in the 1960s, when he discovered its striking symbolism. The female figurines among the finds are the most important reason for this fame. Therefore, various feminist groups have been attracted to this place because they perceived the site as a proof of the existence of a peaceful matriarchal community in the past. All of this is aligned with Gimbutas' peaceful era theory, which has a Mother Goddess belief. This article will explain how archaeological finds at Çatalhöyük accompanied these theories in the time of Gimbutas and Mellaart and how new studies and new perspectives have altered these assumptions.

This article is based on an EAA session in Kiel in 2021, in which thirteen contributors provide their response to Robb and Harris's (2018) overview of studies of gender in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, with a reply by Robb and Harris. The central premise of their 2018 article was the opposition of ‘contextual Neolithic gender’ to ‘cross-contextual Bronze Age gender’, which created uneasiness among the four co-organizers of the Kiel meeting. Reading Robb and Harris's original article leaves the impression that there is an essentialist ‘Neolithic’ and ‘Bronze Age’ gender, the former being under-theorized, unclear, and unstable, the latter binary, unchangeable, and ideological. While Robb and Harris have clearly advanced the discussion on gender, the perspectives and case studies presented here, while critical of their views, take the debate further, painting a more complex and diverse picture that strives to avoid essentialism.

Hundreds of cruciform figurines have been found in Chalcolithic sites across Cyprus, and these were produced in a variety of media that include clay, limestone, and picrolite. These stunning figurines continue to fascinate people today, but they remain enigmatic in the context of the Chalcolithic communities that produced them. What meanings did they capture in the Chalcolithic and why were these objects so important to these societies? In this paper I will survey existing scholarship and evaluate the merits of previous interpretations of these objects. Finally, I will suggest a new interpretation of these iconic objects. In this manner I aim to contribute to a topic that was dear to Olivier Nieuwenhuyse: how to understand prehistoric iconographies.

Bilgi, insan aklı ve eylemleri ile doğrudan ilişkilidir ve her zaman kaynağı olan bir peyzaj içinde gelişmiştir. İnsanın öğrenme çabası ile doğa ve doğal faktörler ile etkileşimi bilginin oluşumunda çok önemli rol oynamıştır. İnsan doğa hakkındaki gerçekleri öğrendikçe, doğayı daha iyi kullanmanın ve şekillendirmenin çözümlerini ortaya koymuştur. Bilgi, insanın peyzaj, peyzajdaki süreçler ve peyzajdaki her bir bileşenden yararlanmayı amaçlayan yaratıcı keşfinin ürünü olmuş ve zaman içinde toplumların kültürlerini şekillendirmiştir. Bilgi tarihi, insanın ve onun düşüncesinin, yarattığı uygarlığın ve kültürün tarihi olduğu için bilginin keşfinin ve gelişiminin insanlık tarihi içinde doğa ve peyzaj ile olan etkileşimi bağlamında ele alınması gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, çağlar boyunca bilginin Anadolu’daki yolculuğunda peyzajın yerinin ele almak; bilginin varoluşunun ve tarih boyunca gelişiminin peyzaj ile süregelen karşılıklı etkileşimine farklı bir bakış açısı getirmek ve özel...

ABSTRACT
The island of Cyprus has attracted the attention of archaeologists, historians, artists and many researchers from different disciplines due to its cultural diversity. The aim of the research is to obtain information about the lifestyle and belief styles of the archaic society in Cyprus by examining the human figurines belonging to the Cyprus archaic period in the Cesnola Collection of the New York Metropolitan Museum. Archaic period figurines of the Metropolitan Museum Cesnola Collection, which constitute the sample of the research, were used from the archaeological data of the Metropolitan Museum, which is the most important data source, and visual analysis was carried out under two separate headings, the human
figurines of the Cyprus Archaic 1st and Cyprus Archaic 2nd periods. The method of the research is the qualitative research method and the research is a descriptive study. The figurines included in the sample were examined categorically as a result of visual analysis. In this context, human figurines belonging to the Cyprus Archaic 1st (750 - 600 BC) and Cyprus Archaic 2nd (600 - 475 BC) periods, which are exhibited in the Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, have been examined and categorized by visual analysis method. The visual analysis of the figurines is based on archaeological data. In the categorical analysis made by considering the themes, the figurines were divided into seven (7) different
categories. Detected categories; worshiping human figurines, instrument playing figurines, warrior figurines, god and goddess figurines, fertility figurines, daily life figurines and figurines that cannot be included in any category. In the research, conclusions were reached regarding the production materials of the figurines. It has been concluded that the figurines reflect the multiculturalism of the island life and the unique culture of Cyprus has formed with the hybridization process. It has been determined that the commercial and political life in Cyprus has effects on Cypriot art. In this context, it has been concluded that there has been a
transition from images with Near East and Egyptian influences to Greek images. It is thought that today's culture is the combination of the productions of the past cultures and the productions of the period we live in. Therefore, it has been concluded that strengthening the bond between past cultures and today's culture also increases the value of today's art.

Keywords: Cyprus, figurine, archaic

Colour and decoration were prominent features of Neolithic figurines. However, many such details and colours have faded over time, and it is only on close inspection that traces of colour are vis­ible. This paper presents the innovative application to figurines of a technique based on the treatment of  images  with  DStretch,  a  valuable  tool  for  recovering  the  visualization  of  fainted  pigments  in  clay  figurines examined from Knossos. The method has the potential to illuminate aspects such as gender, age, status, identity or group affiliation through the study of colour in Prehistoric figurines.

Introducere Obiectul studiului de faţă îl constituie un artefact ce pare să facă parte din categoria pieselor extrem de rar relevate în contexte arheologice. Acesta a fost descoperit în situl arheologic de la Limba-Oarda de Jos 1 şi a fost publicat, iniţial, cu ocazia prezentării integrale a inventarului unei locuinţe de suprafaţă Starčevo-Criş, prilej cu care prezentam şi punctele de vedere cu privire la încadrarea cultural-cronologică a locurii neolitice timpurii 2. Cercetările sistematice derulate între anii 1995 şi 2001-reluate în anul 2009-au fost cele care au prilejuit descoperirea complexului, respectiv a artefactului aflat în atenţia noastră. Situl de la Limba-Oarda de Jos este binecunoscut în bibliografia de specialitate mai veche sau mai recentă, remarcându-se prin poziţia avantajoasă în cadrul Văii Mureşului Mijlociu, prin complexitatea şi diversitatea depunerilor neolitice, care ajung în unele sectoare-cum este cel de la Bordane-să atingă grosimi de până la 2,5-3 m 3. Se...

Антропоморфна фигура-Дуранкулак Глава от антропоморфна фигура-Селищна могила Панаята, Каблешково Глава от антропоморфна фигура-Селищна могила Козарева могила, Каблешково Гръб: Антропоморфна фигура-Селищна могила Козарева могила, Каблешково 13 май-31 октомври 2023 Изложбата е реализирана във връзка с участието на Регионален исторически музей-Бургас в инициативата "Европейска нощ на музеите 2023" www.burgasmuseums.bg ЗА ИЗЛОЖБАТА Изложбата е реализирана благодарение отличната съвместна дейност между 10 културно-научни институции, чиято основна задача е да проучват, съхраняват, опазват и представят пред широката публика българското археологическо и историческо наследство. Включените 133 експоната произхождат от 23 археологически обекта, ситуирани по Българското черноморско крайбрежие и неговия хинтерланд-от Дуранкулашкото езеро на север до Созопол на юг. На запад са обхванати и териториите, в които се разпростира съвременното черноморското климатично влияние. Представена е пластика от различни праисторически култури, съществували в хронологическите граници от късния неолит до края на халколита. Късен неолит-къснонеолитните фази на култура Хаманджия, култура Усое и синхронните къснонеолитни причерноморски варианти на тракийската култура Караново III-IV и IV. Ранен и среден халколит-ранно-и среднохалколитните фази на култура Хаманджия, синхронните фази на култура Сава и тракийската култура Марица. Късен халколит-култура Варна и култура Коджадермен-Гумелница-Караново VI. Изложбата очертава и степента на проучване на праисторическите паметници по Българското черноморско крайбрежие, което обхваща голяма част от Западния Понт. Включени са много експонати от широко известни и проучвани с десетилетия обекти като некропола и селищната могила при Археологически комплекс Дуранкулак, Варненския халколитен некропол, Селищна могила Голямо Делчево, Праисторически солодобивен комплекс Провадия-Солницата, Козарева могила до Каблешково и др. Наред с тях са представени и археологически обекти, чието проучване започва едва през XXI век. Това са Скритата могила до село Порой, Селищна могила Бургас, Селищна могила Борунката до село Желязово, Праисторическото селище Буджака в Созопол и др. Показани са и находки от обекти, на които никога не е провеждано археологическо проучване-Селищна могила Панаята до Каблешково, Селищна могила Преображенци, Сладкия канал в Бургас, Селищна могила Калето до село Винарско и др. Голяма част от експонатите за първи път се представят пред широка публика. Те запознават посетителите с религиозно-митологичната система и божествения пантеон на едни от най-ранните земеделско-скотовъдни общества, обитавали Балканския полуостров.

The island of Cyprus has attracted the attention of archaeologists, historians, artists and many researchers from different disciplines due to its cultural diversity. The aim of the research is to obtain information about the lifestyle and belief styles of the archaic society in
Cyprus by examining the human figurines belonging to the Cyprus archaic period in the Cesnola Collection of the New York Metropolitan Museum. Archaic period figurines of the Metropolitan Museum Cesnola Collection, which constitute the sample of the research, were used from the archaeological data of the Metropolitan Museum, which is the most important data source, and visual analysis was carried out under two separate headings, the human figurines of the Cyprus Archaic 1st and Cyprus Archaic 2nd periods. The method of the research is the qualitative research method and the research is a descriptive study. The figurines included in the sample were examined categorically as a result of visual analysis. In this context, human figurines belonging to the Cyprus Archaic 1st (750 - 600 BC) and Cyprus Archaic 2nd (600 - 475 BC) periods, which are exhibited in the Cesnola Collection in the Metropolitan Museum, have been examined and categorized by visual analysis method. The visual analysis of the figurines is based on archaeological data. In the categorical analysis made by considering the themes, the figurines were divided into seven (7) different categories. Detected categories; worshiping human figurines, instrument playing figurines, warrior figurines, god and goddess figurines, fertility figurines, daily life figurines and
figurines that cannot be included in any category. In the research, conclusions were reached regarding the production materials of the figurines. It has been concluded that the figurines reflect the multiculturalism of the island life and the unique culture of Cyprus has formed with the hybridization process. It has been determined that the commercial and political life in Cyprus has effects on Cypriot art. In this context, it has been concluded that there has been a transition from images with Near East and Egyptian influences to Greek images. It is thought that today's culture is the combination of the productions of the past cultures and the productions of the period we live in. Therefore, it has been concluded that strengthening the bond between past cultures and today's culture also increases the value of today's art.
Keywords: Cyprus, figurine, archaic

Femmes d'hier: images, mythes et réalités du féminin néolithique focuses on the depiction of anatomical female bodies in the form of figurines, anthropomorphic stelae, rock art and anthropomorphic vessels from prehistoric Southwest Asia and Europe. Culturally, the evidence encompasses the early agricultural societies of the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age in the Near East, 10 000-3000 BC, and Europe, 7000-2000 BC. Rock art from the Saharan region is also included to highlight the great variety of anthropomorphic imagery. Guilaine's aim is to present the diversity of ways in which anatomical female bodies are rendered in different media, with a view to addressing questions concerning the sexual division of labour, the position that women held within their families and wider community, and the symbolism associated with women.

This article is based on an EAA session in Kiel in 2021, in which thirteen contributors provide their response to Robb and Harris's (2018) overview of studies of gender in the European Neolithic and Bronze Age, with a reply by Robb and Harris. The central premise of their 2018 article was the opposition of 'contextual Neolithic gender' to 'cross-contextual Bronze Age gender', which created uneasiness among the four co-organizers of the Kiel meeting. Reading Robb and Harris's original article leaves the impression that there is an essentialist 'Neolithic' and 'Bronze Age' gender, the former being under-theorized, unclear, and unstable, the latter binary, unchangeable, and ideological. While Robb and Harris have clearly advanced the discussion on gender, the perspectives and case studies presented here, while critical of their views, take the debate further, painting a more complex and diverse picture that strives to avoid essentialism.

Marija Alseikaitė-Gimbutienė (Gimbutas) (1921-1994) was born and raised in Lithuania within a family of physicians and intellectuals devoted to the preservation of Lithuanian folk culture. She studied archaeology with Professor Jonas Puzinas who was the first scientifically trained archaeologist in independent Lithuania. Marija Gimbutas was thoroughly trained in Eastern European archaeology, Baltic prehistory, Indo-European linguistics, ethnology, history, folklore, mythology, and European languages taught by the most accomplished Lithuanian scholars in their fields. In 1942 she earned a Master՚s degree at Vilnius University for her thesis on "Burial Practices in the Lithuanian Iron Age." In 1946 she earned her doctorate in archaeology from Tübingen University in Germany before immigrating to the United States in 1949. This paper traces her prodigious production of major publications and scholarly achievements fostered by her multidisciplinary education in Lithuania. It discusses the development of her Kurgan hypothesis, her excavations in Southeastern Europe, her theory of Old Europe, her formulation of archaeomythology, and the ancient veneration of the earth as the source of life.

The work examines the position of the settlements within the urban structure of the Outer Town of Pliska. The history of research shows that the settlements revealed through archaeological excavations are 7 in total. However, the settlements registered through field surveys are many more – 66. Seventy-two of them have been marked on the archaeological map of Pliska. Their sizes vary over an extensive range. The most prominent sites cover an area of about 90 ha, and the smallest ones – 1 ha as the sites ranging between 3 and 10 ha prevail. The theory of a determined central government ordinance for an arrangement of the settlements along the outer fortification line seems to be the most attractive one among all the attempts to systematise the settlement topography. Thus the settlements also get a protective function, as each has been entrusted with protecting a particular sector of the fortification system. The study of the structure of the settlements is confronted with the same circumstances, which prevent an accurate definition of their limits and sizes. We presume, therefore, their components and the correlations between them according mainly to the field research carried out at many sites. The primary type of house in them is the semi-dugout, although some settlements also contain dugouts. The ground houses appear to be the rarest type constructed of stone, wooden or adobe walls. The heaters are an inherent element of almost all investigated houses – ovens, stoves or open fireplaces, in most cases constructed in one of the corners. The observations up to now report a nest-like arrangement of the houses. Some of the settlements contain larger houses, their walls faced with wooden planks and
usually taking the central sector of the settlement area. It seems interesting that some of the settlements are encircled by protective walls. In a chronological aspect, the settlements in the Outer Town belong to two main groups relating to the capital and post-capital periods of Pliska. Nevertheless, some of them reveal both periods of existence. The first group is a smaller one. Traditionally it dates from the 8th – the first half of the 9th c. The end of the settlements in Pliska came about in the early or mid-11th c. Some additional information on the number, arrangement and date of the sites comes with the 40 churches registered on the territory of the Outer Town. We suppose that each church belongs to a particular settlement, as well as that not all of the settlements having a church emerged after the adoption of Christianity. Still, some of them had been organised even before that event. In this respect, the case with the Grand Basilica is very illustrative as it was constructed over an earlier settlement. After the construction of the architectural complex, a new settlement developed around it. The analysis of the settlement topography shows that a more significant number of the registered churches and church complexes, civil constructions and architectural complexes are to be
found within the limits of the settlements or in the immediate vicinity. Alongside the correlation buildings – settlements, there is also a relation between the Palace Centre and the numerous settlements grounded along its periphery, as well as a connection between the earthen fortification and the settlements along the inner side of the rampart on the one hand, and on the other – the lack of settlements outside. All the mentioned circumstances prove that the construction of the settlements in the Outer Town of Pliska has been an element of the comprehensive urban development concept of the first Bulgarian Capital City.

Φωτογραφία εξωφύλλου: Γυναικείο ειδώλιο με ερωτιδέα από λαξευτό υπόγειο τάφο του ανατολικού νεκροταφείου της Πέλλας. Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο Πέλλας ΒΕ 1978/178 (φωτ.: Σ. Μαυρομμάτης). Ο παρών τόμος πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας προστατεύεται από τις διατάξεις της Ελληνικής Νομοθεσίας (Ν. 2121/1993), όπως έχει τροποποιηθεί και ισχύει σήμερα, και από τις διεθνείς συμβάσεις περί πνευματικής ιδιοκτησίας. Απαγορεύεται απολύτως, χωρίς γραπτή άδεια του εκδότη, η καθ' οιονδήποτε τρόπο (φωτομηχανικό, ηλεκτρονικό κ.λπ.) αντιγραφή, φωτοανατύπωση και εν γένει αναπαραγωγή, εκμίσθωση ή δανεισμός, μετάφραση, διασκευή και αναμετάδοση στο κοινό, σε οιαδήποτε μορφή και η εν γένει εκμετάλλευση του συνόλου ή μέρους του τόμου.