Graduation Semester and Year

2013

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Anthropology

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

First Advisor

Karl Petruso

Abstract

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.

Disciplines

Anthropology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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