A Study Of Anthropomorphic Figurines In The Neolithic Of Southwest Asia And Southeastern Europe

Summary

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.

Keywords

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: -9000 to -4000

Notes

General Note: While this study was not specific to North American sites, the methodologies used may be of value to similar studies in other regions, specifically with regard to database creation and entry as well as statistical evaluation and analyses.

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