Cypriot Clay Bodies: Contact, Corporeality, and Figurine Use in the Cypriot Late Bronze Age

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The clay "Astarte" figurines of Cyprus’ Late Bronze Age are enigmatic and well-known, and their emphasis on female reproductive organs lead most scholars to argue for fertilic functions. Yet how were these figurines actually used? And how do they fit within the much larger repertoire of Late Bronze Age figurines both on Cyprus and within the wider eastern Mediterranean?

This paper examines clay figurine use, reuse, and deposition on Late Bronze Age Cyprus, and, more broadly, the multifaceted ways Cypriot figurine production and use incorporate and respond to increased contact with the Aegean and Levantine coast. It takes a contextual approach to figurine analysis, looking for patterns in production, style, body attributes, assemblage, and fragmentation of both anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic figurines at a number of well-excavated sites on Cyprus.

Through a material and context-focused analysis that considers issues of corporeality and materiality, it becomes clear that there are far more complex meanings and functions for Cypriot figurines than just female fertility. Clay figurines provide a focused lens into the ways people interact with objects, create or adjust identities, and perceive of their place in the world around them.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)   •
• Mediterranean Archaeology: Connections, Interactions, Objects, and Theory

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 26088