Anthropomorphic applied motifs on the Neolithic Pottery. Some remarks on an Old Problem
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Pottery with applied anthropomorphic motifs is a broadly defined term, where we need to recognize several basic categories while the main criteria for classification may be determined by a degree of transformation of the vessel to the shape of human body, eventually its parts. One of them is represented by pottery with applied depictions of human faces or all human figures – so called face pots / vessels with figural depictions. We focus exactly on these two types of artifacts in the presented paper, since within the set of Neolithic figurines these finds have not received sufficient attention. Anthropomorphic applications on the Neolithic pottery represent a specific phenomenon that can yield a great amount of information not only about a specific community and the life of its members (religious beliefs, social or cultural activities), but also general knowledge of characteristic features of the time period in which vessels were created. Traditionally we are facing an opinion that depiction of anthropomorphic elements in prehistoric societies relates to religious beliefs and cult ideas. But we need to emphasize we can not automatically regard all findings with applied human motifs as ritual artifacts related to the universal “female deity”. The aim of this presentation based on evidence from Carpathian Basin and surrounding regions (142 face pots, 69 vessels with figural depictions and 13 knobs) is to offer their complex analysis from the point of morphology, but mostly focusing on the question of the meaning, function and interpretation of these unique findings. |
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