"IDOLS" and cult objects from the Mediterranean. From 6000 to 2000 B.C.
Phoenix Ancient Art
Introduction
With a few small exceptions, the objects presented in this exposition cover
a chronological horizon that stretches from 6000 to 2000 B.C. from a vast
region, one that was fundamental to the development of the history of the
eastern and northern Mediterranean. Among the displayed pieces, the
preponderance of numerous anthropomorphic figurines is subjective and finds
its justification in the allure that the simple, elegant forms have on the
artistic tastes of modern artists and spectators.
Around 10,000 B.C., a group of phenomena and historical transformations that
archaeologists have categorized under the term "neolithic revolution"
profoundly changed ancient societies, allowing the shift from
hunter-gatherer societies to a civilization that was agricultural, pastoral
and, soon after, urban. It is particularly in the region of western Asia
known as the Fertile Crescent, situated today in the vicinity of Syria,
Turkey, Iraq and Iran, that the conditions necessary for this revolution
came together and the changes mentioned followed accordingly. This
"neolithisation" implied the birth of the first villages, the domestication
of plants and animals and the emergence of new technologies (the polishing
of stone, the working of clay and, at the end of the Neolithic Period, the
introduction of progressive metallurgy). In the spiritual domain, some new
forms of religion and ways of thinking developed. All of these
modifications, which were very progressive in nature for the Fertile
Crescent, occupied a period of history which lasted from between the 11th
and the 4th millennium.
This period includes the last part of the Mesolithic, the Neolithic and the
Chalcolithic (passing from the technology of stone to that of copper). That
was then followed by another key period in the development of the history of
mankind: the Bronze Age. During this period, metallurgy really took flight
(metal had replaced stone in tool-making), and was also involved in a number
of commercial ventures, associated most often with the obtaining of copper,
tin and lead, which were the basic components of bronze.
In the Neolithic and Ancient Bronze Age, many Mediterranean cultures
produced human figures, generally of a small size, sculpted out of different
materials (terracotta, stone and, in rare cases, in shell or metal); they
were dispersed throughout the Levant, Anatolia, the Balkans, Northern Greece
and even as far as Egypt, Sardinia and Spain. Modern scholarship has named
these figures "idols", but this term is used more as a convention. These
statuettes were the creations of primitive societies, ones that rarely came
in contact with other communities and had no system of writing. According to
recent archaeological studies, it is near impossible for us to know their
true significance and the relationships that may have existed between
figurines from different regions. However, even if the regional
specificities were very important, we believe today that they were probably
used in a funerary and/or religious sphere. Their typology is extremely
varied: one comes across small, simple stones with very schematic forms,
female figures with voluptuous bodies and highly elegant, elongated
sculpture etc.
* All of the dates mentioned are understood to be B.C.; therefore the label
"B.C." was not specified.
Syria - Anatolia
Like eastern Anatolia, northern Syria was part of the zone that formed the
nucleus of the "Neolithic Revolution": the excavations of the past century
include numerous sites such as Tell es-Sawwan, Tepe Gawra, Tell Halaf or
Chagar Bazar where traces of rapid development of villages were found. The
people used stone (flint, obsidian) to make the objects and weapons they
needed and began to make the first terracotta vessels. Early on, this
neolithisation shifted towards the central and western Anatolian plateau
where, for almost half a century, archaeological excavations were allowed to
update some of the most important and, in terms of the urban fabric, most
well structured sites of Çatal Hüyük (7th - 6th millennium) and later,
Haçilar (6th - 5th millennium). The tradition of carving human figures goes
back very far, as proved by the example of the "goddess" seated on a throne
found at Çatal Hüyük: again and again, the clear predominance of female
statuettes proves the importance of women in Neolithic societies. A result
of their probable relation to fertility cults, which were not only linked to
the productivity of the earth and their flocks but probably also concerned
the fecundity of woman and therefore the continuation of the community, the
statuettes were most often very obese and rounded (steatopygic, literally
"of large buttocks").
In general, Anatolian "idols" are distinguished by their wide variety of
shapes (steatopygic, anthropomorphic, schematic, etc.) and by their use of
many different materials. Like in the Aegean world, the extremely fleshy
forms were seen less and less in the 4th and especially the 3rd millennium,
giving way to more naturalistic representations, while the schematic figures
continued to exists up until the end of the Bronze Age. Many statuettes
exhibiting similar characteristics can be classified in different groups
bearing the names of the archaeological sites were the first known examples
of the types were discovered (Kilia, Kusura, Beycesultan, Troie, Çaikenar,
etc.).
NORTHERN GREECE - THE BALKANS
Actually, archaeologists consider the idea of a Near Eastern and Anatolian
origin for the neolithisation of Europe an accepted piece of historical
information. It seems that two distinct methods of penetration were
discernable: the first, a terrestrial route to Greece, the Balkans and
continental Europe, starting around the middle of the 7th millennium; the
second, on the other hand, adopted a maritime route, bordering the
present-day Dalmatian, Italian, French and Iberian coasts, at the end of the
second half of the same millennium.
There are numerous Neolithic sites that exist today in the north of Greece
on the plains of Thessaly (Nea Nikomedia, Sesklo, Dimini), in Bulgaria
(Karanovo, Varna) and in the Danube region (Starčevo and Vinča). The new
elements that mark the beginnings of the area's neolithisation are the
emergence of cattle raising and agriculture, the presence of the first
villages, the use of clay for the making of vessels and, some time later,
the development of metallurgy. From the end of the 5th millennium, certain
tombs from the necropolis at Varna (on the Black Sea, in present-day
Bulgaria) contained numerous objects fashioned from sheet gold:
archaeologists think that the presence of these pieces is a good indicator
of the existence of dominant figures in their society, like a "prince" or a
personality related to the cultural world or a person whose role combined
both functions. The prestige accompanying their role was very quickly
translated into a material richness above that of the common people.
The Cycladic Islands
At the beginning of the Bronze Age (end of the 4th millennium), the Cyclades
experienced a remarkable cultural development quite distinct in character
from their neighboring civilizations that lasted until about the end of the
following millennium. The most important historical phenomenon from this
period is the development of metalworking techniques (bronze in particular)
from Asia Minor.
The inhabitants of the Cyclades, who had not yet developed a written
language, practiced agriculture and raised cattle as well as hunting and
fishing. In particular, the production of vessels in ceramic and stone and
the trade in obsidian from Melos made up their most important economic
activities. But it was probably the sea that was the center of the daily
lives of the islanders, as evidenced by the plentiful images of boats and
spiral motifs representing waves on Cycladic artifacts. Materials from
excavations prove that seafaring contacts with western Anatolia, Crete and
the Greek continent were regular occurrences.
The material par excellence of Bronze Age Cycladic culture was white marble,
which is the principal mineral resource of the islands. It is in this stone
that the figurines and vessels that constitute the most recognizable and
most well known aspects of the artistic production of the Cyclades were
carved.
The statuettes, which have continued to intrigue not only collectors for
decades but also archaeologists and artists, are classified into different
groups that derive their names from the sites where the artifacts were
discovered. Their significance is enigmatic at best, and likewise their
religious "aura" is partially explained: the large majority of these pieces
were found in necropoleis. However, certain fragmentary examples come from
places that might be "sanctuaries", while others are found to this day at
Cretan or Continental sites.
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
In Iberia, the Neolithic "idols" from the beginning of the Bronze Age
adopted very simple forms: rectangular stone plaques of varying sizes,
bovine or equine bones or stone cylinders. Their anthropomorphic character
was expressed through incisions indicating the hair, the eyes - which
resemble sunbursts, and some undulating marks that the archaeologists
interpret as tattoos; there also exist ceramic vessels ornamented in the
same fashion: with a face.
These objects appeared either in the Neolithic era or just as the Hispanic
Bronze Age was beginning (3rd millennium): the most well known culture from
this period was that called the Los Millares, which takes its name from a
necropolis in the south of Spain, which spread up to the borders of
Portugal. Although it appeared to be a culture based on an agricultural and
pastoral economy, the use of metal (tin, copper) was already known and it is
possible that some commercial contacts existed with the cultures of the
central and eastern Mediterranean.
For information contact Aboutaam at Phoenix Ancient Art
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