Skip to navigation – Site map

HomeNuméros22Conferences and WorkshopStandardising Creativity. Analyti...

Conferences and Workshop

Standardising Creativity. Analytical Tools for the Study of Clay Figurines in the Mediterranean and Near East

12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE), Bologna, April 6 to April 10, 2021
Barbara Bolognani and Nadeshda B. Knudsen

Abstract

From 6 to 10 April 2021, the 12th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) took place remotely and was broadcast from the University of Bologna, Italy. Within the conference, Barbara Bolognani and Nadeshda Bladt Knudsen organized a workshop entitled “Standardising Creativity. Analytical Tools for the Study of Clay Figurines in the Mediterranean and Near East”. The workshop was part of the thematic session no. 3 “Hammering the material world. Characterization of material culture, processes and technologies” and was held under the auspices of the Association for Coroplastic Studies (ACoST), with the kind support and presence of the group’s founder and president, Jaimee Uhlenbrock. The workshop involved thirteen coroplastic specialists from eight different countries and thirteen affiliated institutions. The principal focus of the workshop was on Mediterranean and Near Eastern clay figurines. The aim was to give voice to wide-ranging and inclusive aspects of terracotta figurine studies that resonate with all researchers in this field, irrespective of geographic region or archaeological period.

Top of page

Full text

  • 1 Insoll 2017.
  • 2 Muller, Uhlenbrock 2014; 2015, 2018, 2020.

1The tradition of coroplastic studies has previously always been closely tied to the history of art and religious studies. This has invariably resulted in partial analyses focused mainly on iconographic matters, rather than considerations of the materiality of the object. Moreover, it is only in the last few decades that scholars have started to consider the value of contextual data. The autonomy of the discipline in broader archaeological studies has been expressed in the publication of the Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines1 and the work-in-progress project The Handbook for Coroplastic Studies2. The former focuses on global prehistoric figurines, and the latter primarily addresses research on Greek/Classical period terracottas. Contrary to the many pottery manuals, we still do not have any comprehensive work devoted to the study of clay figurines. This absence goes hand in hand with the low incidence of papers dealing with theoretical studies on research methods and critical approaches. The purpose of the workshop was to begin to bridge this gap.

2Contributors who have participated in the workshop presented ten papers dealing with specific case studies to address common issues and proposed generalised methodologies and theoretical approaches. The aim was to encourage the exchange of knowledge that would benefit a wider audience and facilitate a dynamic trajectory, moving towards closer collaboration and dissemination of ideas in this relatively niche area of archaeological endeavour.

Fig. 1. Logo of the 12th ICAANE, ALMA MATER STUDIORUM, Università di Bologna

© Copyright 2022

3The morning session opened with four papers dedicated to experimental archaeology that seeks to understand the design phase of figurine production and the manufacturing techniques used. The first paper was by Monique Arntz, “What Makes a Figurine Work? A Case Study from the Neolithic Site of Çatalhöyük”. Monique explored the role of zoomorphic figurines as artefacts manufactured for a specific function by examining skills and production processes dictated by technological and social norms. Her paper demonstrated a link between manufacturing techniques and subsequent use of figurines in Çatalhöyük, Turkey.

4“Lionesses Goddesses of Jerusalem and other Imaginary Beings” was the title of the second paper presented by Raz Kletter. Raz questioned the canonical interpretation of a group of terracottas from Jerusalem, known in the literature as divine leonine figurines. Through his analysis of their manufacture, he discovered that the ways in which these animal figurines are presented in publications and possibly also how they were restored has led past scholars to misinterpret the original subject.

5Introducing the topic of experimental fragmentation, the third paper was presented by Nadeshda Knudsen, “ ’Signature Strikes’: A Study of Breakage Patterns in Levantine Early Bronze Age Zoomorphic Figurines”. Nadeshda showed some preliminary results of her ongoing experimental archaeology program to understand breakage patterns in a group of Early Bronze Age zoomorphic figurines from the Southern Levant. Through her replicas, she was able to suggest an enhanced narrative of the production, use-life, and ultimate destruction and deposition of these artefacts.

6Another experimental archaeology program was conducted by Céline Murphy, who gave a paper entitled “Experimental Research as a Data Collecting Method”. Céline’s paper has highlighted the importance of undertaking experimental programmes from the earliest phases of a study, namely as soon as initial patterns begin to emerge in the dataset. With her “pilot experimentation” that included reproductions of Minoan peak sanctuary figurines, she proposed that this approach can eliminate earlier false perceptions or confirm tentative alternative paths, thereby adapting the research method to the freshly obtained evidence.

7The afternoon session was resummed with two papers on the analysis of material aspects (petrography, XRF spectrometry, surface marks and treatments) to identify local workshops, regional spread, and the manipulation of objects during their lifetime. Alexander Pruss presented a paper entitled “Modes of Production and Distribution of Terracotta Figurines”. Alexander’s research comprised a group of mould-made female figurines produced in Syria during the Persian period. In his analysis, he attempted to track the path of these objects from the workshops to their destinations through the study of the tools and skills employed to create them.

8Ida Oggiano and Marianna Castiglione followed with their paper “From the Chemical Composition of Clay to the Performance of Rituals. The case of the Figurines from the Phoenician Cult Place of Kharayeb (Lebanon)”. This research illustrated the potentials of ion beam analysis when studying coroplastic assemblages. Their paper focused on the use of this kind of technique for the reconstruction of social life and ancient religious practices at the Phoenician sanctuary in Kharayeb, Lebanon.

9The core investigations of the two preceding papers were then integrated through theoretical approaches regarding the visual aspects of figurines when considering pure semantic meanings. In this regard, Barbara Bolognani’s paper “Detecting Children Agency in Coroplastic Production. Guidelines for the Interpretation of Clay Figurines as Children’s Entertainment Products” proposed a method to determine when a figurine is modelled by a child or is produced with a specific playful purpose. The method merged real case studies from the archaeology of distant cultures with current studies on human cognitive development and childhood visual art.

10The next paper, “The Use of Stone Molds for Terracotta Figurines and Lamps in Late Roman Palestine” was by Adi Erlich. Adi presented technical, stylistic, and social implications of the employment of soft limestone moulds, introduced from the 3rd century CE onwards in mixed workshops in Roman Palestine. In her opinion, this innovation caused a tentative correlation with the prioritization of lamps over figurines productions and a consequent cultural-religious change.

11Remaining in the same territory with a paper entitled “There’s a Figurine at Bottom of the Sea: Methodological Approaches to Dealing with Terracottas found Underwater”, Meir Edrey presented the difficulties and challenges we may encounter when dealing with terracotta assemblages found in marine contexts. Using the case of the Shavei Zion figurines (Israel), Meir’s paper analysed the role of systematic surveys, casual discoveries made due to unexpected weather conditions and the illegal antiquities market. Furthermore, some conservation hints were disclosed concerning handling artefacts covered by marine concretions.

12The final paper was by Valentina Vassallo and Sorin Hermon. Their work entitled “Integrated Digital and Analytical Approaches to the Study of Dispersed Clay Figurines Collections – The Ayia Irini Assemblage as a Case-Study” presented some preliminary results derived from the EU funded project GRAVITATE. The project merged computer graphics and vision methods with knowledge management and information technology to analyse the physically dispersed coroplastic collection of the Ayia Irini sanctuary, Cyprus.

13The workshop was then closed with a concluding note offered by Jaimee Uhlenbrock, who underlined the pivotal role of new branches of social science (cognitive archaeology, network analysis, behavioural systems) in the study of terracottas, moving beyond the traditional typological and art historical narratives. With her paper “Studying Greek Terracottas. What’s New”, Jaimee proposed a deep reflection on the function of clay figurines as representatives of complex social systems. Her paper also stimulated a final debate on the overarching aims of the workshop, which is the need for multidisciplinary dialogue among coroplastic scholars regardless of their geographical and historical specialization.

Top of page

Bibliography

Insoll, T. (ed.) 2017. The Oxford Handbook of Prehistoric Figurines. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Muller, A., J. Uhlenbrock. 2014. « Two Collaborative Projects for Coroplastic Research ». Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 11 | 2014, Online since 13 July 2015, connection on 23 January 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/acost/475 ; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.475

Muller, A., J. Uhlenbrock. 2015. « Two Collaborative Projects for Coroplastic Research, II. The Work of the Academic Year 2014-2015 ». Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 13 | 2015, Online since 01 September 2015, connection on 23 January 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/acost/633 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.633

Muller, A., J. Uhlenbrock. 2016. « Two Collaborative Projects for Coroplastic Research, III. The Work of the Academic Year 2015-2016 ». Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 15 | 2016, Online since 11 November 2016, connection on 23 January 2022. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/acost/986 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.986

Muller, A., J. Uhlenbrock. 2018. « Two Collaborative Projects for Coroplastic Research, IV. The Work of the Academic Years 2016–2017 ». Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 17 | 2018, Online since 10 April 2018, connection on 23 January 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/acost/1202 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.1202

Arthur Muller et Jaimee Uhlenbrock, « Two Collaborative Projects for Coroplastic Research, V. The Work of the Academic Years 2018–2019 », Les Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 20 | 2020, Online since 30 March 2020, connection on 23 January 2022. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/acost/2391 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.2391

Top of page

Notes

1 Insoll 2017.

2 Muller, Uhlenbrock 2014; 2015, 2018, 2020.

Top of page

List of illustrations

Credits © Copyright 2022
URL http://journals.openedition.org/acost/docannexe/image/3154/img-1.jpg
File image/jpeg, 178k
Top of page

References

Electronic reference

Barbara Bolognani and Nadeshda B. Knudsen, Standardising Creativity. Analytical Tools for the Study of Clay Figurines in the Mediterranean and Near EastLes Carnets de l’ACoSt [Online], 22 | 2022, Online since 30 March 2022, connection on 15 January 2026. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/acost/3154; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/acost.3154

Top of page

Copyright

CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) may be subject to specific use terms.

Top of page
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search